Game machine and program

ABSTRACT

A game machine includes a game operation acceptance device configured to accept one or more game operations by a player. The game machine also includes a skill evaluating device configured to determine whether or not the one or more game operations that are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions. The game machine also includes a game value consuming device configured to consume a game value in case that the skill evaluating device determined that the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a game machineand a program.

BACKGROUND ART

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-188985 discloses a gamein which the operation timing is instructed to a player and the gameoperating skill (game skill) of the player is evaluated in accordancewith the time difference between the instructed operation time and theactual operation time. There is a game that advances by consuming gamevalue, for example, credits held by the player, and that pays out gamevalue to the player in accordance with the game results.

In a game machine that increases and decreases the game value in thismanner, it is difficult to make the game results reflect game skill. Forexample, if the game skill is reflected in the game results, a playerwith a low skill level will consume game value more quickly as the gameadvances than a player with a high skill level, and it can be imaginedthat a player with a low skill level will avoid playing the game.

SUMMARY

A game machine includes a game operation acceptance device configured toaccept one or more game operations by a player. The game machine alsoincludes a skill evaluating device configured to determine whether ornot the one or more game operations that are accepted by the gameoperation acceptance device satisfy one or more predefined skillconditions. The game machine also includes a game value consuming deviceconfigured to consume a game value in case that the skill evaluatingdevice determined that the one or more game operations by the playerwhich are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy theone or more predefined skill conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first drawing showing a game screen of a first gameaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware constitution of a game machineaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a second drawing showing a game screen of a timing gameaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a third drawing showing a game screen of a timing gameaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the medal inserter unit of a game machineaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a drawing for describing the advancement of a timing gameaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a drawing for describing the operation of a specialinstructing object according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a drawing for describing the output of the skill evaluation bythe game machine of the same embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a drawing for describing the advancement of a bingo gameaccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows the functional constitution of a game machine according tothe same embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows an example of object data according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of consumptiondetermination processing by the game machine according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a variation example of object data according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a game screen according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a first drawing for describing a game object and operationwith respect to the game object according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a second drawing for describing a game object and operationwith respect to the game object according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a third drawing for describing a game object and operationwith respect to the game object according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a fourth drawing for describing a game object and operationwith respect to the game object according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows the functional constitution of a game machine according tothe same embodiment.

FIG. 20 shows an example of object data according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 21 shows an example of sequence data according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of consumptiondetermination processing by the game machine according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of sequenceprocessing by the game machine according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 24 shows an overview of a game machine according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 shows the functional constitution of the game machine accordingto the same embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of rewarddetermination method selection processing according to the sameembodiment.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a game object according to a variationexample.

FIG. 28 shows an example of bet operation according to a variationexample.

EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are described below, withreferences made to the drawings.

First Embodiment

The first embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

(Overview of Game Machine 10)

An overview of the game machine 10 according to the present embodimentwill first be described.

The game machine 10 is a device that executes a game that can advance bythe consumption of credit (game value) held by a player. In this case,the game executed by the game machine 10 will be described for the casein which, based on the timing with which a player performs a gameoperation, the game operating skill is evaluated, in a so-called timinggame. In the present embodiment, as one example, by inserting a medal Minto the game machine 10, the player accumulates credit, and the timinggame can be advanced by consuming the credit.

FIG. 1 shows a game screen G110 of a game executed by the game machine10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The game machine 10 according to the present embodiment has a touchpanel 12, to be described later, and displays a game screen of a timinggame. The game screen G110 shown in FIG. 1 displays the three gameobjects IO10-1, IO10-2, and IO10-3 and a player object PO10.

The player object PO10 is a game object that specifies a position basedon a player's game operation. In the following, such a game object willbe called a player object. In this case, as one example, the case willbe described in which the game machine 10 moves the player object PO10along the operation path AR10 in response to a game operation, that is,the case in which return is made to the initial position after movementfrom the initial position upward by a prescribed distance movement.

The game objects IO10-1, IO10-2, and IO10-3 instruct the playersregarding the timing for making a game operation. In the following, thistype of game object will be called an instructing object. In this case,as one example, the case will be described in which the game machine 10instructs regarding the game operation timing by moving the game objectsIO10-1, IO10-2, and IO10-3 along the movement path AR11. In thefollowing, if there is no need to distinguish the instructing objectsIO10-1, IO10-2, and IO10-3, they will be referred to as instructingobjects JO.

If a player's game operation satisfies a prescribed skill condition, thegame machine 10 consumes a prescribed amount of credits. If the playergame operation satisfies a prescribed skill condition, the game machine10 determines a reward with respect to the game object. If, however, theplayer's game operation does not satisfy the prescribed skill condition,the above-noted prescribed amount of credit is not consumed.

In this case, the skill condition is a condition taken as an indicatorwhen evaluating the skill of a player game operation. A game operationfor advancing the game. The skill condition in the present embodiment isthe difference (distance) between the position of the instructing objectand the position specified based on a player game operation being avalue within a prescribed range. More specifically, one example of theskill condition in the present embodiment is performing a game operationso that the player object PO10 reaches the region RG10 at the timing ofthe instructing object JO reaching the region RG10.

As described above, the game machine 10 according to the presentembodiment does not consume the prescribed amount of credit if theprescribed skill condition is not satisfied. Therefore, if the gameoperating skill is low in the game machine 10 according to the presentembodiment, the prescribed amount of credit is not consumed and also noreward is determined. In the case of a high game operating skill, theprescribed amount of credit is consumed and also a reward is determined.By doing this, the game machine 10 can avoid having a player with a lowskill level consume more credit than a player with a high skill level.

(Hardware Constitution of Game Machine 10)

The hardware constitution will next be described.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware constitution of the game machine10 according to the present embodiment.

The game machine 10 has four units, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4 and atouch panel 12 that is shared between the four units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3,and 11-4. The touch panel 12 has a substantially rectangular, flat shapeand is installed so that the display region thereof faces upward. Theheight from the surface on which the game machine 10 is installed to theupper surface of the touch panel 12 is, for example, a heightcorresponding to the waste level of a child standing upright. In thismanner, by installing the touch panel 12 at a low position, players havea wide view of the game screen, without a restriction on height or thelike.

The four units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4, for example, are provided atpositions corresponding to the four corners of the touch panel 12, andare positioned, when seen from above, in the clockwise direction in thatsequence. In the following, the units 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4 will becollectively called the unit 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the line segmentjoining the center point of the side between the units 11-1 and 11-2 andthe center point of the side between the units 11-3 and 11-4 is definedas L11, and the line segment joining the center point of the sidebetween the units 11-1 and 11-4 and the center point of the side betweenthe units 11-2 and 11-3 is defined as L12.

Players stand at positions corresponding to each of the units 11(hereinafter referred to as the player positions) and make gameoperations while facing the touch panel 12 side.

The touch panel 12 can switch between a game screen of a timing gamethat advances for each unit 11 and a game screen of a timing game thatadvances simultaneously for a plurality of units 11. In the following,the game mode in which the timing game advances for each unit 11 will bereferred to as the individual play mode, and the game mode in which thetiming game advances simultaneously for a plurality of units 11 will bereferred to as the group play mode.

FIG. 3 shows one example of the display of the game screen in theindividual play mode.

As in the game screen G100 shown in FIG. 3, in the individual play mode,the display region of the touch panel 12 is divided into four parts bythe line segments L11 and L12 that join the center points of opposingsides, these being allocated to each of the units 11. Doing this enablesthe touch panel 12 to display one of the game screens G110, G120, G130,and G140 for each unit 11.

FIG. 4 shows one example of the game screen display in the group playmode.

As in the game screen G200 shown in FIG. 4, in the group play mode, thetouch panel 12 can integrate the entire display region and display agame screen that is common to all the units 11. In the group play mode,the game screen may be displayed continuously connected, as in the gamescreen G100 shown in FIG. 3 between neighboring units 11. By doing this,the game machine 10 can provide a so-called group play mode timing game,which advances simultaneously in a plurality of units 11.

Next, the hardware constitution of the unit 11 will be described. Theunits 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, and 11-4 have the same hardware constitution.The units 11 are installed at positions that correspond to the cornersof the game screen G110 in the touch panel 12. The unit 11 has a drum13, an operating button 15, a speaker 16, a medal payout unit 17, and amedal inserter unit 18.

The drum 13 has a structure with a skin drawn across a cylindricallyshaped body. The film forms a striking surface of the drum 13, and gameoperation is done by a player striking (hitting) the film of the drum 13to play the drum with a pair of sticks 14 or the hands. On the rear sideof the striking surface of the drum 13 is provided a shock sensor thatdetects a shock imparted to the striking surface, enabling acceptance ofa game operation of a player striking the striking surface. The shocksensor, for example, can detect and distinguish between at least a shockimparted to a left-side region and a shock imparted to the right-side ofthe striking surface as seen from the player. The detection mechanism ofthe shock sensor is arbitrary. In this case, as one example, the casewill be described in which a plurality of pushbuttons are provided asshock sensors on the rear side of the striking surface, enablingidentification of a region that has been struck by a player by theposition of a pushbutton that is depressed by a shock to the strikingsurface. In the following, a game operation with respect to the drum 13will be referred to as a “striking operation.” A different sensor thatdetects a physical quantity may be used in place of the shock sensor. Anexample of another sensor that may be used is a touch sensor.

The height from the installation surface on which the game machine 10 isinstalled to the striking surface is substantially the same as theheight from the installation surface to the upper surface of the touchpanel 12. By doing this, the players making game operations at eachplaying position can observe the presence of other players, the playsituations, and expressions and the like while making game operations,without having their vision blocked by the touch panel 12 or the drum 13or the like.

The striking surface of the drum 13, in addition to facing upward, formsa gradual incline that lowers with movement toward the outside, awayfrom the touch panel 12. By doing this, compared with providing thestriking surfaces of the drums 13 so that they face the players, theplayers making game operations can easily strike the striking surface ofthe drum 13, without a restriction on player height or the like.Therefore, in addition to being easy to use, the game machine 10 enablesgame operations to be made by players of diverse heights.

The unit 11-1 is provided with an operating button 15 on the right sideof the drum 13 as seen from a player making game operations. Theoperating button 15 is a pushbutton that accepts an operation by aplayer. By pushing the operating button 15 the player can, for example,use an item gotten in a timing game or select the game mode or the like.

A speaker 16 is provided on the touch panel 12 side of the operatingbutton 15. The speaker 16 plays back a timing game melody, soundeffects, or a voice.

The medal payout unit 17 is a member for paying out medals M obtained bythe player playing the timing game.

The medal inserter unit 18 is a member for inserting medals that areconsumed as credit in the timing game. The structure of the medalinserter unit 18 will now be described.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the medal inserter unit 18 of the gamemachine 10 according to the present embodiment.

The medal inserter unit 18 is provided to the outside of the touch panel12, on the other side from the operating button 15 and the speaker 16,with the drum therebetween (on the left side of the drum 13 as seen fromthe player operating the game at the unit 11-1). As shown in FIG. 5, themedal inserter unit 18 has a medal holder 19, a medal locating groove20, and a metal inserting port 21.

The medal holder 19 has rectangular planar shape having its longitudinaldirection in the direction along the line segment L11 and has adepression formed in the bottom thereof. A plurality of medals M areheld in medal holder 19.

The medal locating groove 20 is provided on the side opposite from thedrum 13, with the medal holder 19 therebetween (on the left side of themedal holder 19 as seen from the player operating the game at the unit11-1). The medal locating groove 20 extends along the line segment L11.Both end faces of the medal locating groove 20 are flat, and aredisposed along the vertical direction.

The medal locating groove 20 has a semicircular cross-sectional shape.The radius of curvature of the inner surface of the medal locatinggroove 20 is substantially the same as or slightly larger than theradius of a medal M. The radius of curvature of the inner surface of themedal locating groove 20 is larger than the radius of the stick 14. Thisenables the player to slide end tip of the stick 14 in the inner surfaceof the medal locating groove 20 while moving it along the medal locatinggroove 20.

The medal inserting port 21 is formed in the end part of the touch panel12 side of the medal locating groove 20. The medal inserting port 21 isa slit that communicates between the inside and outside of the medallocating groove 20 and is formed along the end face of the touch panel12 side of the medal locating groove 20. The width of the medalinserting port 21 is made sufficiently wider than the thickness of amedal M.

In this case, it is preferable that, of the inside surface of the medalholder 19, the inside surface on the medal locating groove 20 side is aninclined surface that is inclined gradually upward moving toward themedal locating groove 20. By doing this, a player can operate the stick14 to easily move a required number of medals M to the medal locatinggroove 20 from among the medals M inside the medal holder 19.

Regarding the medal inserter unit 18 constituted as described above, aplayer inserts a medal M into the game machine 10 as follows.

First, the player manipulates the stick 14 to move a prescribed numberof medals M from inside the medal holder 19 to the medal locating groove20, using the end of the stick 14.

Then, the player manipulates the stick 14 to slide the end thereof onthe inner surface of the medal locating groove 20 while moving it towardto the touch panel 12. When that is done, a plurality of medals M in themedal locating groove 20 are stood upright in the medal locating groove20 and move toward the touch panel 12 side end face of the medallocating groove 20 in the condition in which they mutually overlap. Bydoing this, of the plurality of medals M, a medal M that has reached theend face of the touch panel 12 side of the medal locating groove 20 isinserted into the game machine 10 via the medal inserting port 21. Inthis manner, by manipulating the stick 14, medals M can be successivelyinserted into the game machine 10 via the medal inserting port 21. Thelength of the medal locating groove 20 is, for example, preferably 50%that of the stick 14 or longer. By doing this, because a player can movethe end of the stick 14 along the medal locating groove 20 in thecondition in which the stick is sufficiently horizontal, a plurality ofmedals M can be easily stood upright in the medal locating groove 20,and the medals M can be inserted from the medal inserting port 21.

(Game Overview)

Next, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 to FIG. 9, an overview of the gameexecuted by the game machine 10 will be described.

First, the game screen of the timing game according to the presentembodiment will be described. The game screen G110 shown in FIG. 1 is anexample of the game screen of a timing game that advances at the unit11-1. In addition to the above-described instructing objects IO10-1,IO10-2, IO10-3, and IO10-4, the game screen G110 displays the playerobject PO10, the credit display object CR10, the instructing objectIO20, and the bingo game sheet G310.

The player object PO10 indicates that the player has made a gameoperation by changing its position in response to a striking operationby the player. Although in this case an example of only one playerobject PO10 being displayed is described, a plurality of player objectsPO10 may be displayed. For example, a display may be made of playerobject PO10 that corresponds to a striking operation in the left-sideregion of the drum 13 and a player object PO10 that corresponds to astriking operation in the right-side region of the drum 13.

As one example, in the present embodiment, the player object PO10 isdisplayed close to the operating positions of players playing the gameat the units 11, in the vicinities of the four corners of the touchpanel 12. By doing this, a player can verify at a nearly position thechange in the position of the player object PO10, which moves based onthe player's own striking operations.

The instructing object IO instructs the timing for a player to make astriking operation by movement along the movement path AR11 and has aregion indicating a reward that can be obtained by a drawing. In thiscase, a striking operation that satisfies a prescribed skill conditionis executed as a trigger. That is, if a striking operation satisfies askill condition, in addition to credit being consumed, a drawing isexecuted. The reward corresponding to the instructing object IO can beobtained by winning in the drawing. For example, in the reward displayregion IO11-1 of the instructing object IO10-1 shown in FIG. 1,character string “10 medals” is displayed. The reward, for example, is aprescribed amount of credit, an item that can be used in the timinggame, an item corresponding to a square in a bingo game, to be describedlayer, the right to receive a secondary drawing, or the right to play anaddition game. The addition of a game object having a high expectedvalue or an addition amount of game time, for example, may be made as areward. The game reward, for example, may differ depending upon the typeof the instructing object IO, or may be fixed, without regard to thetype of the instructing object IO.

The relationship of a striking operation of a player in the timing gameand the obtaining of the reward displayed by the instructing object willnow be specifically described.

FIG. 6 is for describing the advancement of a timing game according tothe present embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the game machine 10 transitions thedisplay from the game screen G111 to the game screen G112. Specifically,the instructing object IO10-4 is moved in accordance with the elapse oftime, and the player object PO10 is moved in response to a strikingoperation. In the game screens G111 and G112, the instructing objectIO10-4 is displayed at the upper side of the player object PO10 (thatis, from the center of the display surface of the touch panel 12).

If the player strikes the drum 13 when the instructing object IO10-4passes the top part of the player object PO10, the player object PO10moves so as to jump up. The player object PO10 then approaches theinstructing object IO10-4. When this is done, if the distance D12between the reference position P10 of the player object PO10 (theposition of the intersection between the movement path of the playerobject PO10 and the movement path of the instructing object OI10-4) andthe center position P20 of the instructing object IO10-4 is a valuewithin a prescribed range, that is, if a prescribed skill condition issatisfied, a prescribed amount of credit is consumed. If a prescribedskill condition is satisfied, a drawing is also made. By winning in thedrawing, a player can obtain credit corresponding to the “10 medals”represented by the instructing object IO10-4. If there is a win in theabove-noted drawing, the instructing object IO10-4 displayed as beingbroken.

If there was no win in the above-noted drawing, there is no payout ofcredits corresponding to “10 medals” M, and the prescribed number ofcredits are merely consumed. However, even if there is no win in theabove-noted drawing, a part of the instructing object IO10-4 may bedisplayed as being broken. Whether or not a part of the instructingobject IO10-4 is displayed as being broken may be determined by adrawing separate from the above-noted drawing. If the distance betweenthe player object PO10 and the instructing object IO10-4 is not a valuebetween the prescribed range, as shown by D11 in the game screen G111,the prescribed amount of credit is not consumed, and a drawing todetermine whether or not to grant the player the credit reward indicatedby the instructing object IO10-4 is also not made.

Next, the types of instructing objects according to the presentembodiment will be described.

The instructing objects in the present embodiment include two types, anormal instructing object and a special instructing object.

The normal instructing object instructs the timing for a strikingoperation at a normal time in a timing game (when not in the specialgame mode), for example, as the instructing object IO10 shown in FIG. 3.

The special instructing object is an instructing object that instructsthe timing for a striking operation in a timing game when a special gamemode has been enabled, for example, as the instructing object IO20 shownin FIG. 3. The special instructing object is associated with a rewardhaving a higher value than a normal instructing object. Specifically, aspecial instructing object may be associated with it a credit that isten or more times the amount of a payout in the case of a normalinstructing object. The striking operation for obtaining the rewardrepresented by a special instructing object can be made only when aprescribed game mode has been reached in the timing game. The specialinstructing object may be displayed even in a mode that is not theprescribed game mode. By doing this, because the player can verify areward that is of a higher value being associated with the specialinstructing object, the game machine 10 can heighten the desire of theplayer to play the game.

In the example of the game screen G100 shown in FIG. 3, the displaypositions in the game screen differ between the normal instructingobject and the special instructing object. Specifically, the normalinstructing object IO10 appears on, moves along, and disappears from thecircuit path orbit AR12. The special instructing object IO20 appears on,moves along, and disappears from the circular orbit AR13, which sharesits center with the circular orbit AR12, and is positioned closer to thecenter of the touch panel 12 than the normal instructing object IO10. Inthis manner, at neighboring units 11, by continuously moving variousinstructing objects, each player of the units 11 not only can verify thescreen allocated to that player, but also can verify a neighboring unit11 and verify an instructing object that will subsequently be movinginto the screen region. However, an instructing object may be made tomove only within each of the units 11.

In this case, in the game machine 10, if an instructing object is movedbetween units 11, the results of a striking operation with respect tothe instructing object may be inherited and moved. Specifically, aninstructing object displayed as being partially broken by a strikingoperation at a previous unit 11 may be inherited by the next unit 11with the display remaining as is. By doing this, because the gamemachine 10 shows at least on the display an instructing object that ispartially broken, it is able to impart a feeling of expectation on thepart of the player of soon being able to obtain a reward, therebyheightening the desire to play. In the group play mode, in which aplurality of players cooperate to get a reward from a specificinstructing object, by making a display indicating that, by strikingoperations at each unit 11, a gradual approach is made to obtaining areward, the feeling of unity between the players in the group play modecan be heightened.

The game mode for enabling operation of a special instructing objectwill now be described.

FIG. 7 is for describing the operation of a special instructing objectaccording to the present embodiment.

For example, if a player has obtained a specific item displayed by theinstructing object IO10-5 shown in FIG. 7, the player object PO10 can bemade to collide with the special instructing object. When this game modeis enabled, it is subsequently referred to as the special game mode.When the special game mode is enabled, the picture of the player objectPO10 changes. Additionally, when a striking operation is made in thiscondition, as shown in the game screen G113, the jumping up of theplayer object PO10 is greater than normal. By doing this, the playerobject PO10 can collide with the special instructing object IO20. In thepresent embodiment, drums 13 are disposed at the four corners of thetouch panel 12. For that reason, even if the display region of the touchpanel 12 is rectangular, at each unit 11, the distance from the playerobject PO10 displayed in the vicinity of the drum 13 to the instructingobject is uniform, and it is not necessary to change the movementdistance of the player object PO10 for each unit 11. That is, bydisposing the drums 13 at the four corners of the touch panel 12, it ispossible to achieve the same operational feel at any of the units 11.

When a player makes a striking operation with respect to a drum 13, thegame machine 10 outputs an evaluation of the skill of that strikingoperation.

FIG. 8 is for describing the output of the skill evaluation by the gamemachine 10 according to the present embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the game screen G114 displays a skillevaluation object E10 representing the game operation skill of theplayer. The player game operation skill evaluation may be displayed ascharacter information such as numbers (a score) or symbols and the like,or may be displayed as graphic information such as a gauge or graph. Theskill evaluation may also be output as a sound or light presentation.

The displayed content of the skill evaluation object E10, for example,differs between the cases of satisfying and not satisfying a prescribedskill condition. In the example shown in FIG. 8, because the playerobject PO10 did not collide with the instructing object IO10-6 eventhough a striking operation was made, an evaluation is output indicatingthat the striking operation was not a well-timed operation. In contrast,for example, if the player object PO10 collides with the instructingobject IO10-6 as a result of a striking operation, an evaluation isoutput indicating that the striking operation was a well-timedoperation. In this manner, the game machine 10 outputs a skillevaluation regardless of whether a prescribed skill condition issatisfied. By doing this, the player can judge whether or not his or herstriking operation was made with good timing. As a result, becausestriking operations that satisfy the skill condition increase, the gamemachine 10 can cause the player to play the game with good efficiency.

The credit display object CR10 represents the amount of credit held bythe player. The amount of credit held by the player increases, forexample, by the player inserting medals M, and by obtaining credit as areward by playing the timing game. In contrast, the amount of creditheld by the player decreases, for example, by a payout of medals M tothe player and by consumption of credit by satisfying a prescribed skillcondition by a player striking operation.

The bingo game sheet G310 is a game object used when advancing a bingogame.

The bingo game will now be described.

FIG. 9 is for describing the game object used when advancing a bingogame in the game machine 10 according to the present embodiment.

The bingo game sheet G311 shown in FIG. 9 has a total of nine squares,three vertically and three horizontally. When bingo items are obtainedfrom instructing objects, the game machine 10 enables squares of thebingo game sheet corresponding to the bingo game items. Specifically,the instructing object IO10-7 shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to the squareMS11 and the square MS21 of the bingo game sheet G311. If a playerobtains a bingo item associated with the instructing object IO10-7, thegame machine 10 enables the square MS11 and the square MS21. If anyvertical, horizontal, or diagonal row is enabled, such as the squaresMS21, MS22, and MS23 shown in the bingo game sheet G312, that is, whenso-called bingo is made, the game machine 10 pays out a reward of aprescribed amount of credit to the player.

(Functional Constitution of the Game Machine 10)

Next, the functional constitution of the game machine 10 will bedescribed.

FIG. 10 shows the functional constitution of the game machine 10according to the present embodiment.

The game machine 10 has a storage 110, an operation acceptor 120, a gamemedium acceptor 130, a returning unit 140, an output 150, a first gameexecuting unit 160, a second game executing unit 170, and a unit manager180. Of these elements, the storage 110, the operation acceptor 120, thegame medium acceptor 130, the returning unit 140, the output 150, thefirst game executing unit 160, and the second game executing unit 170are provided for each unit 11.

The unit manager 180 controls, for example, the operation of each unit11 provided in the game machine 10. Specifically, the unit manager 180,for example, allocates a display area of the touch panel 12 for eachunit 11, integrates the display regions allocated to each unit 11, andcontrols each unit 11.

The storage 110 has, for example, a ROM (read-only memory), a RAM(random-access memory), or the like. The storage 110 may have a HD(hard-disk) drive, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmableread-only memory), or a flash memory or the like. The storage 110 storesvarious programs executed by a CPU (central processing unit, not shown)of the game machine 10 and the results of processing executed by theCPU. The first game executing unit 160, the second game executing unit170, and the unit manager 180 operate by the CPU of the game machine 10executing game programs and control programs stored in the storage 110.

The storage 110 has an object data storage 111 that stores object data,a melody data storage 112 that stores melody data, a skill conditiondata storage 113 that stores skill condition data, and an operationhistory holder 116 that holds and operation history of game operation.The operation history, for example, has coded therein, for example, thetiming at which game operations have been made, in association with gameoperation skill evaluations.

Object data represents rewards for each instructing object and therelationship of correspondence between obtaining the rewards and resultof a drawing. The object data will now be described by an example.

FIG. 11 shows an example of object data according to the presentembodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, the object data D111 is constituted bydrawing reward information (drawing rewards) and drawing probabilityinformation (winning probabilities), in association with instructingobject IDs.

The instructing object ID (identifier) is unique identificationinformation for identifying an instructing object. An instructing objectID may be unique identification information for each individualinstructing object, or may be unique identification information for eachtype of instructing object. In this case, the type of the instructingobject is, for example, the picture of an instructing object, orclassification of an instructing object by an arbitrary criterion, suchas the reward corresponding to the instructing object.

The drawing reward information represents the reward corresponding to aninstructing object. The drawing reward information has coded therein,for example, a combination of the amount of credit payout and one ormore of the identification information unique to an item. The content ofthe reward represented by the drawing reward information is displayed inthe reward display region of the instructing object.

The winning probability information represents the probability ofwinning a drawing that is made if a player's striking operationsatisfies a prescribe skill condition. The winning probabilityinformation is coded, for example, as a value from 0% to 100%.

That is, the method of determining the reward corresponding to aninstructing object is coded in the object data D111. In this case, themethod of determining the reward is a combination of one or more ofdetermining whether or not to pay out a reward, the content of thereward, and a reward amount. In the present embodiment, although as anexample of the reward determination method, the game machine 10 executesa drawing with the winning probability established for each instructingobject for whether or not to pay out a reward for that instructingobject, this is not a restriction. For example, the winning probably fora drawing for determining the amount and content of a rewardcorresponding to an instructing object may be coded in the object data,or an arbitrary reward determination method by a reward payout conditionor the like using a method other than a drawing may be coded in theobject data. The game machine 10 references the information representingthe drawing determination method corresponding to the instructing objectID in the object data (for example, the winning probability) and, todetermine the reward using the method established by that information,can change the reward determination method in accordance with theinstructing object.

The skill condition data represents the skill condition established as acriterion for evaluating the skill of a striking operation made by aplayer. In the present embodiment, as described above, the differencebetween a reference position of a player object (position of theintersection of the movement path of the instructing object and themovement path of the player object) and the position of the instructingobject being within a prescribed range is established as the skillcondition. In this case, the value of the reference distance is coded inthe skill condition data. If a player striking operation moves theplayer object up to the reference position so that the distance betweenthe player object and the instructing object is within the referencedistance, the skill condition is determined to have been satisfied.

The operation acceptor 120 has a touch sensor of the touch panel 12, ashock sensor of the drum 13, and a button sensor of the operating button15. The operation acceptor 120 detects a game operation by a player withrespect to the touch panel 12, the drum 13, and the operating button 15.The game operations include an operation of striking the drum 13. Thegame operation acceptor 120 outputs to the first game executing unit 160game operation information representing a detected game operation. Ifthe credit held by the player is less than a prescribed amount, however,the operation acceptor 120 does not output game operation information.In this manner, the game operation acceptor 120 may be made to accept agame operation if the credit required for advancing a game isaccumulated in a timing game. Also, the operation acceptor 120 may bemade to accept a game operation regardless of the amount of credit heldby player, and the first game executing unit 160 may be made not toaccept a game operation from the game operation acceptor 120 if thecredit is less than a prescribed amount. The operation acceptor 120 isnot restricted to accepting a game operation and may accept an operationrepresenting an arbitrary instruction by the player. In the presentembodiment, the region of the operation acceptor 120 accepting a gameoperation, such as the touch position in the touch panel 12, or theright-side region or left-side region of the drum 13 is sometimes calledthe operation acceptance region.

The game medium acceptor 130 has a medal inserter unit 18. The gamemedium acceptor detects insertion of a medal M into the medal inserterunit 18. The game medium acceptor 130 outputs insertion information ofdetected medals M to the first game executing unit 160. The first gameexecuting unit 160 adds credit, based on the insertion information fromthe game medium acceptor 130.

The returning unit 140 has a medal payout unit 17. Upon receiving payoutinformation from the first game executing unit 160 instructing thepayout of a prescribed amount of medals M, the returning unit 140 paysout to the medal payout unit 17 the indicated amount of medals M.

The output 150 outputs information regarding the game executed by thegame machine 10. The output 150 has a display 151 and an audio output152.

The display 151 has a display device of the touch panel 12. The displaydevice is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL(electroluminescence) display or the like. The display 151, based onimage data acquired from the first game executing unit 160 or the secondgame executing unit 170, displays game screens for a timing game and abingo game.

The audio output 132 has a speaker 16. The audio output 132, based onspeech data acquired from the first game executing unit 160 or thesecond game executing unit 170, reproduces game melodies, sound effects,and speech.

The first game executing unit 160 executes a timing game. The first gameexecuting unit 160 has a game object processor 161, a skill evaluator162, a game value consuming unit 163, a game reward determination unit164, and a bet setter 165.

The game object processor 161 controls the disposing and change of thepresentation of various game objects on the game screen. Specifically,for example, the game object processor 161 periodically displays each ofthe various instruction objects one at a time, based on thepre-established appearance probability of each, at a prescribed displaystarting position for each on the game screen. The game object processor161 then moves the game object along a prescribed movement path towardthe display ending position on the game screen at a prescribed speed. Inthis process, if a reward corresponding to an instructing object hasbeen paid out or if the instructing object has moved up to the displayending position, the game object processor 161 removes the instructingobject from the game screen. The present embodiment, the description isfor the example in which the display starting position and the displayending position are the same position and are on the above-describedmovement path of the instructing object. That is, in the presentembodiment, the instructing object travels around a circular orbit anddisappears when it returns to the original position.

The game object processor 161, for example, changes the display of aplayer object or an instructing object in response to a game operationsuch as a striking operation. The game object processor 161, forexample, disposes on the game screen a skill evaluation objectrepresenting the result of the skill evaluator 162 determining the skillof a game operation. The game object processor 161 outputs image datarepresenting the game screen to the display 151, causing the display 151to display the game screen.

The skill evaluator 162, evaluates the skill of a player's gameoperation, based on whether or not a prescribed skill condition issatisfied. The game operation evaluation made by the skill evaluator 162regarding an instructing object will now be described.

In the skill evaluation, the skill evaluator 162 first acquires gameoperation information representing the game operation from the operationacceptor 120. Next, the skill evaluator 162 acquires the centercoordinates of each instructing object at the point in time at which theplayer object has moved up to the movement path of the instructingobject. Next, the skill evaluator 162 calculates the difference betweenthe center coordinates of each instructing object and the referenceposition coordinates of the player object, and identifies theinstructing object that is at a position that is closest to thereference position. Next, the skill evaluator 162 determines whether ornot the distance from the reference position to the closest instructingobject is within a prescribed distance. If the distance from thereference position to the instructing object is within the prescribeddistance, the skill evaluator 162 determines that the game operationsatisfies the skill condition and allocates a game operation regardingthe instructing object. If the distance from the reference position tothe instructing object is not within the prescribed distance, the skillevaluator 162 determines that the game operation does not satisfy theskill condition. The skill evaluator 162 outputs the determinationresult to the game object processor 161, the game value consuming unit163, and the game reward determination unit 164. The determinationresult does not necessarily need to be output to the game rewarddetermination unit 164, and information indicating the consumption of aprescribed amount of game value by the game value consuming unit 163 canbe output to the game reward determination unit 164 from the game valueconsuming unit 163. The above processing is executed each time a gameoperation is accepted.

In this case, if a game operation is accepted in a special game mode,the allocations of game operations to a normal instructing objectpositioned between a special instructing object and a player object isdivided into three processing types, from the first processing type tothe third processing type, which are described below. The skillevaluator 162 may allocate a game operation by any one of the firstprocessing type to the third processing type. The first to the thirdprocessing types will now be described, with reference made to FIG. 7.

In the first processing type, when a game operation is accepted in thespecial game mode, the game operation is not allocated to a normalinstructing object. In this case, when a game operation is made by aplayer, the game object processor 161 moves the player object PO10 sothat it slips past instructing object IO10 so that it is displayed asapproaching or colliding with the special instructing object IO20. Whenthis occurs, the skill evaluator 162 determines whether or not the gameoperation satisfies the skill condition with regard to the specialinstructing object IO20. Specifically, it determines whether or not thedistance between the special reference position of the player objectPO10 (the point of intersection between the movement path of the specialinstructing object IO20 and the movement path of the special game modeplayer object PO10) and the special instructing object IO20 is within aprescribed range. In contrast, the skill evaluator 162 does not performa determination of whether or not the skill condition is satisfied withrespect to the normal instructing object IO10.

In the second processing type, when a game operation is accepted in thespecial game mode, the game operation is allocated to a specialinstruction object only if no normal instructing object exists between aspecial instructing object and the player object. In this case, when agame operation is made by a player, the game object processor 161, inaddition to moving the player object PO10 so that it is displayed asapproaching or colliding with the special instructing object IO20, if anormal instructing object IO10 exists on the movement path thereof, itdisplays it as colliding with the normal instructing object IO10 andeither passing therethrough or changing path. When this occurs, theskill evaluator 162 not only allocates a game operation regarding thenormal instructing object IO10 that was collided with, but alsodetermines whether or not the game operation regarding the specialinstructing object IO20 satisfies the skill condition. If there is nonormal instructing object IO10 on the movement path of the player objectPO10, the player object PO10 moves up to the movement path of thespecial instructing object IO20. When this occurs, the skill evaluator162 determines whether or not the game operation satisfies the skillcondition with respect to the special instructing object IO20.

In the third processing type, when a game operation is accepted in thespecial game mode, the game operation is allocated to a specialinstructing object only in the case in which no normal instructingobject exists between the special instructing object and the playerobject. In this case when a game operation is made by a player, ifmoving the player object PO10 causes it to collide with a normalinstructing object (the case in which the distance between the referenceposition of the player object PO10 and the normal instructing objectIO10 is within a prescribed distance), that is, if the game operationsatisfies the skill condition regarding the normal instructing objectIO10, the game object processor 161 allocates the game operation to theinstructing object and determines whether or not the skill condition issatisfied with regard to the special instructing object IO20. Incontrast, if moving the player object PO10 does not cause a collisionwith the instructing object IO10 (the case in which the distance betweenthe reference position of the player object PO10 and the normalinstructing object IO10 is not within the prescribed distance), that is,if the game operation does not satisfy the skill condition regarding thenormal instructing object, the skill evaluator 162 determines whether ornot the game operation satisfies a prescribed skill condition regardingthe special instructing object IO20. If the game operation satisfies theprescribed skill condition regarding the special instructing objectIO20, the game operation is allocated regarding the special instructingobject IO20.

The skill evaluator 162 may make an evaluation not of each individualgame operation, but rather of a plurality of game operations or of oneset of game operations made within a prescribed period of time. Forexample, the skill evaluator 162 may count the number of times aprescribed number of game operations satisfy the skill condition and mayevaluate the skill based on the proportion of game operations thatsatisfied the skill condition.

The better setter 165 sets a bet amount in response to a prescribed betamount specifying operation by a player. The bet amount is the unitamount of credit that is consumed for one operation. The bet specifyingoperation may be an arbitrary operation. For example, it is a buttonoperation, a screen touch operation, or a timed stick strikingoperation. The game machine 10 may be enabled by a bet amount specifyingoperation by a player to make settings for each operation acceptanceregion or instructing object. A value of zero or greater is set as thebet amount. In the following, a value greater than zero as the betamount will be referred to as a “bet made.” A value of zero set as thebet amount will sometimes be referred to as “bet not made.” The gameobject processor 161 need not display on the game screen an instructingobject for which a bet is not made. If a game object is displayed foreach operation acceptance region, the game object processor 161, forexample, may be made not to display a game object corresponding to anoperation acceptance region in which a bet has not been made.

The bet setter 165 may set different types of betting methods, inaccordance with a prescribed betting method specifying operation by theplayer. The betting methods include, for example, a normal bet and aside bet. A normal bet is a betting method whereby there is apossibility of being granted only a normal game reward. A side bet is abetting method whereby there is a possibility of being granted a specialgame reward that differs from a normal game reward. Special game rewardsinclude a free game, a bonus game having a high expected value, ahigh-amount, fixed-value reward, and a progressive reward that isaccumulated by bets by a plurality of players. The bet amount specifyingoperation may be an arbitrary operation. For example, it is a buttonoperation, a screen touch operation, or a timed stick strikingoperation. If a player game operation satisfies a prescribed skillcondition, the game machine 10 consumes a prescribed amount of credit,based on the betting method specified by the player.

Specifying another type of bet operation (for example a normal bet) maybe made an essential condition in order to specify a specific type ofbet operation (for example, a side bet), or may not be made an essentialcondition.

If skill evaluator 162 has determined that a game operation satisfies aprescribed skill condition, the game value consuming unit 163 consumes aprescribed amount of credit. In this case, the prescribed amount ofcredit is, for example, an amount that is calculated using the value ofthe bet amount set by the betting setter 165. The prescribed amount maybe uniquely established by the bet amount, or may be calculated using apre-established value with respect to the operation acceptance region inwhich the operation was made. In the following, the case in which theprescribed amount is a bet amount set by the bet setter 165 will bedescribed as one example.

If the skill evaluator 162 has determined that a game operation does notsatisfy the prescribed skill condition, the game value consuming unit163 does not consume the prescribed amount of credit. When this occurs,the game value consuming unit 163 may be made to consume an amount ofcredit that is less than the amount of credit that is consumed in thecase in which the prescribed skill condition was satisfied. For example,if prescribed skill condition is not satisfied, the game value consumingunit 163 may be made to consume one-half of the credit consumed in thecase of satisfying the prescribed skill condition, or may be made toconsume absolutely no credit. By doing this, if the game operation skilllevel of a player is low, because either no credit or only a smallamount of credit is consumed, the game machine 10 can avoid consumptionof an extremely large amount of credit by a player with a low skilllevel.

If the bet amount is zero, that is, if a bet was not made, even if agame operation was made that satisfies the prescribed skill condition,the game value consuming unit 163 does not consume credit. Specifically,for example, of the two operation acceptance regions of the drum 13, theleft-side region and the right-side region, if a bet is made on only theleft-side region, even if a game operation is made with respect to theright-side region, credit is not consumed by the game value consumingunit 163. The game value consuming unit 163, for example, does notconsume game value regarding an instructing object on which a bet hasnot been made, even if a game operation has been with respect thereto.

If the skill evaluator 162 determines that a game operation satisfies aprescribed skill condition, the game reward determination unit 164determines the reward with respect to the game operation. In this case,determining the reward includes determining whether or not to pay out areward and determining the content of the reward. If the skill evaluator162 determines that a game operation satisfies a prescribed skillcondition, the game reward determination unit 164 reads out from theobject data storage 111 the object data D111 of the instructing objectcorresponding to the game operation. Next, the game reward determinationunit 164 references the winning probability information of the objectdata D111 and executes a drawing with the referenced probability. If awin occurs in the drawing, the game reward determination unit 164 paysout to the player the reward represented by the drawing rewardinformation. The game reward determination unit 164 notifies the gameobject processor 161 of the processing results. If the reward is a bingoitem with respect to a square of a bingo game, the second game executingunit 170 is notified of the reward. If there is no win in the drawing,the game object processor 161 performs no particular processing.

The second game executing unit 170 executes a bingo game. The secondgame executing unit 170 enables a square corresponding to the reward ofwhich it was notified from the game reward determination unit 164 of thefirst game executing unit 160. In the bingo game, if all squares in onerow have been enabled, that is, if so-called bingo has been reached, thesecond game executing unit 170 pays out to the player a reward inaccordance with the bingo win.

(Operation of Game Machine 10)

Next, the operation of the game machine 10 will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of creditconsumption determination processing by the game machine 10 according tothe present embodiment.

(Step 100) The first game executing unit 160, via the operation acceptor120, accepts a bet operation made by a player. After that, the firstgame executing unit 160 proceeds to the processing of step S101.

(Step S101) The first game executing unit 160 determines whether or nota game operation accepted by the operation acceptor 120 (for example, astriking operation) has been accepted from the player. Specifically, thefirst game executing unit 160 waits for operation information outputfrom the operation acceptor 120 and, by acquiring the operationinformation, identifies the timing at which a game operation was made.If there was a game operation (YES at step S101), the first gameexecuting unit 160 proceeds to the processing of step S102. If there isno game operation (NO at step S101), the first game executing unit 160returns to the processing of step S100.

(Step S102) The first game executing unit 160, based on the timinginformation of when the game operation was made, identifies the positionof each instructing object at the point in time at which the playerobject moves to the height of the movement path of the instructingobject. After that, the first game executing unit 160 proceeds to theprocessing of step S104.

(Step S104) The first game executing unit 160 acquires the distancebetween the position of the instructing object and the referenceposition of the player object (the position of the intersection betweenthe movement path of the instructing object and the movement path of theplayer object). After that, the first game executing unit 160 proceedsto the processing of step S106).

(Step S106) The first game executing unit 160 determines whether or notthe distance from the reference position of the player object to theinstructing object is shorter than a prescribed distance. That is, thefirst game executing unit 160 determines whether or not the differencebetween the reference position of the player object and the position ofthe instructing object is a value within a prescribed distance (whetheror not the skill condition is satisfied). If the value is within theprescribed distance (YES at step S106), the first game executing unit160 proceeds to the processing of step S108. If the value is not withinthe prescribed distance (NO at step S106), the first game executing unit160 proceeds to the processing of step S114.

(Step S108) The first game executing unit 160 consumes the amount ofcredit bet at step S100. After that, the first game executing unit 160proceeds to the processing of step S110.

(Step S110) The first game executing unit 160 references the object dataD111 of the instructing object corresponding to the game operation anddetermines by a drawing whether or not to pay out a reward. After that,the first game executing unit 160 proceeds to the processing of stepS112.

(Step S112) If a reward is to be paid out, the first game executing unit160 pays out the reward determined by the processing of step S110. Afterthat, the first game executing unit 160 proceeds to the processing ofstep S114. In the case of not winning in the drawing, in which case areward is not to be paid out, the first game executing unit 160 proceedsto the processing of step S114.

(Step S114) The first game executing unit 160 displays on the display151 the skill evaluation result, based on the determination processingat step S106. After that, the first game executing unit 160 returns tothe processing of step S100.

The processing of the above-described steps S108, S110, and S112 may beexecuted in a different sequence.

Although the above-noted embodiment is described for the case in whichdrawing reward and winning probability attributes are associated witheach instructing object ID attribute, this is not a restriction. Forexample, as shown in the object data D112 of FIG. 13, an attribute ofthe required number of wins and an attribute of the operation creditamount may be associated. That is, a plurality of wins can be made arequirement for obtaining a drawing reward, depending upon the type ofinstructing object. A player can be made to grasp information of therequired number of wins, by the picture or the like of an instructingobject. The amount of credit can be varied, depending upon the type ofinstructing object, in which case the sum or product of the operationcredit amount and the bet amount may be taken as the consumed creditamount.

Summary of the First Embodiment

As described above, the game machine 10 according to the presentembodiment has an operation acceptor 120, which accepts one or more gameoperations by a player (for example a striking operation), and a gamevalue consuming unit 163 that consumes a prescribed amount of game value(for example, credit) if the one or more game operations by the playeraccepted by the operation acceptor 120 satisfy a prescribed skillcondition.

By doing this, the game machine 10 consumes game value after evaluatingthe skill of a game operation. The game machine 10 can therefore changethe amount of game value consumed in accordance with the game skill.Also, by doing this, the game machine can, for example, reduce theamount of game value consumed regarding a game operation that is notinvolved in determining a reward. That is, because the game machine 10can suppress the variation of the amount of game value consumed inaccordance with a player's skill, it can easily adjust the payout rate.

If a game operation does not satisfy a prescribed skill condition, thegame value consuming unit 163 may not consume the prescribed amount ofgame value or may consume an amount of game value less than the amountof game value consumed determined by the skill evaluator 162.

By doing this, the game machine 10 can reduce the amount of game valueconsumed by a player with a low skill level.

If the game value consuming unit 163 accumulates a prescribed amount ofgame value, the operation acceptor 120 accepts a game operation.

By doing this, the game machine 10 can cause game operations not to beaccepted if a player does not hold a sufficient amount of game value.

An output 150 (an example of a skill evaluation output) is furtherprovided that outputs a skill evaluation of a game operation based on agame operation by a player accepted by the operation acceptor 120, andthe output 150 outputs a skill evaluation even if the game operationdoes not satisfy a prescribed skill condition.

By doing this, because the player can be notified of the skill even ifthe prescribed skill condition is not satisfied, the game machine 10 canhave the player to improve his or her skill.

If a game operation by a player accepted by the operation acceptor 120satisfies a prescribed skill condition, the game reward determinationunit 164 determines a reward with respect to the game operation.

By doing this, because a reward is determined in conjunction with theconsumption of a prescribed amount of game value, the game machine 10can maintain a proper balance between the consumption of game value andthe payout of a reward.

If a prescribed amount of game value is consumed by the game valueconsuming unit 163 by a game operation satisfying a prescribed skillcondition, the game reward determination unit 164 determines a rewardwith respect to the game operation.

By doing this, because a reward is determined in exchange for theconsumption of a prescribed amount of game value, the game machine 10can maintain a proper balance between the consumption of game value andthe payout of a reward.

The game reward determination unit 164 determines the reward withrespect to a game operation by a drawing.

By doing this, because there is a possibility that even a player with alow skill level will obtain a reward greater than a player with a highskill level, the game machine 10 can heighten the desire of a playerwith a low skill level to play.

The game reward determination unit 164 determines by a drawing whetheror not to pay out game value as a reward with respect to a gameoperation and/or the amount of game value to be paid out as a rewardwith respect to a game operation.

By doing this, because there is a possibility that even a player with alow skill level will obtain a reward greater than a player with a highskill level, the game machine 10 can heighten the desire of a playerwith a low skill level to play.

The game machine 10 further has a display 151 (an example of a display)that displays a game object (for example, an instructing object) thatmoves within the screen. In this case, there is a plurality of types ofgame objects. If a game operation accepted by the game operationacceptor satisfies a prescribed skill condition, the game rewarddetermination unit 164 changes the reward determination method inaccordance with the type of game object corresponding to the gameoperation.

By doing this, because the method of determining the reward can bechanged by individual instructing objects, the game machine 10 canheighten the interest of a game.

The game machine 10 further has a display 151 (an example of a display)that displays a game object that moves within the screen. In this case,the prescribed skill condition is, for example, that the differencebetween the position of the game object (for example, an instructingobject) and the position specified based on a game operation made by theplayer and accepted by the operation acceptor 120 (for example, theposition of a player object) is a value within a prescribed range.

By doing this, the game machine 10, for example, determines whether ornot the skill condition is satisfied, based on the positionalrelationship between the position of the player object and theinstructing object, thereby enabling the game machine 10 to make avisual instruction of the timing with which an operation should be made.

The game machine 10 further has a display 151 (an example of a display)that displays a game object (for example, an instructing object) thatmoves within the screen. The game objects include a plurality of types,and if the player's game operation accepted by the operation acceptor120 satisfies a prescribed skill condition, the game value consumingunit 163 consumes a prescribed amount of game value that is different,in accordance with the type of game object corresponding to the gameoperation.

By doing this, because the amount of consumption of game value can bechanged for each individual instructing object, the game machine 10 canheighten the interest of a game.

A game program according to the present embodiment is a program forcausing the game machine 10 (an example of a computer) to execute afirst step (S100) of accepting a player's game operation and a secondstep (S108) of consuming a prescribed amount of game value if the gameoperation accepted by the first step satisfies a prescribed skillcondition.

By doing this, the game machine 10 that executes the game programconsumes game value after evaluating the skill of a game operation,thereby enabling the game machine 10 to change the amount of game valueconsumed in accordance with the skill of a game operation.

The game machine 10 further includes an operation acceptor 120 thataccepts a bet operation specifying an amount of game value, wherein thegame value consuming unit 163 uses the game value specified by a betoperation accepted by the operation acceptor 120 to determine the amountof game value to be consumed.

By doing this, the game machine 10 can specify the amount of game valueconsumed by the player. For that reason, for example, a player notfamiliar with the operation of the game can play with a small betamount, thereby enabling the game machine 10 to maintain the desire onthe part of the player to play, regardless of the relative gameoperation skill.

The game machine 10 further includes an operation acceptor 120 (anexample of a bet operation acceptor) that accepts a bet operationspecifying an amount of game value. As a game operation acceptor, theoperation acceptor 120 can accept a game operation with respect to atleast one of a plurality of different types of game operations and, as abet operation acceptor, the operation acceptor 120 can accept anoperation specifying an amount of game value to be consumed for eachtype of game object. The game value consuming unit 163, by a betoperation accepted as a game operation by the operation acceptor 120 asa bet operation acceptor, uses the value of the amount of game valuespecified with respect to a game object that is the target of the gameoperation accepted by the operation acceptor 120 as a game operationacceptor to determine the amount of game value to be consumed.

By doing this, in the game machine 10 a player can specify the amount ofgame value consumed for each type of game object. For that reason, forexample, a player can specify a large bet with respect to aneasy-to-operate game object and can specify a small bet with respect toa difficult-to-operate game object, thereby enabling the game machine 10to maintain the desire on the part of the player to play the game.

In the game machine 10, the operation acceptor 120 as a game operationacceptor can accept one or more game operations with respect to two ormore operation acceptance regions, and the operation acceptor 120 as abet operation acceptor can accept an operation specifying the amount ofgame value to be consumed for each of two or more operation acceptanceregions. The game value consuming unit 163, by a bet operation acceptedby the operation acceptor 120 as a bet operation acceptor, uses a valueof the amount of game value specified with respect to the operationregion that accepted one or more game operation by the operationacceptor 120 as a game operation acceptor to determine the amount ofgame value to be consumed.

By doing this, the game machine 10 a player can specify the amount ofgame value consumed for each operation acceptance region. For thatreason, for example, a player can specify a large bet with respect to anoperation acceptance region in which operation is easy and can specify asmall bet with respect to an operation acceptance region in whichoperation is difficult, thereby enabling the game machine 10 to maintainthe desire on the part of the player to play the game.

The game machine 10 further includes an operation acceptor 120 (anexample of a bet operation acceptor) that accepts a bet operationspecifying an amount of game value and also includes a game rewarddetermination unit 164 that, if a game operation accepted by theoperation acceptor 120 as a game operation acceptor satisfies aprescribed skill condition, determines at least one of the amount andtype of a reward with respect to the game operation. Bet operationsinclude a plurality of types corresponding to at least one of the amountand type of reward, and the game reward determination unit 164, based ona bet operation accepted by the operation acceptor 120, determines atleast one of the amount and type of reward with respect to a betoperation.

By doing this, the game machine 10 can specify a plurality of types ofbetting method, thereby enabling a player, for example, to strategicallyspecify the betting method. The game machine 10, therefore, can maintainthe desire on the part of the player to play the game.

Second Embodiment

(Overview of Game Machine 10A)

The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Inthe following, the same reference symbols will be assigned to elementsthat are the same as in the above-described embodiment, and thedescriptions thereof will be incorporated herein.

The game machine 10A according to the present embodiment has the samehardware constitution as the game machine 10 according to the firstembodiment and executes a timing game. However, the content of theexecuted timing game differs between the game machine 10 and the gamemachine 10A. Specifically, in contrast to the game machine 10, in whicha determination is made as to whether or not credit is to be consumed ismade based on a prescribed skill condition regarding the differencebetween the position of an instructing object and the position of aplayer object, in the game machine 10A, a determination is made as towhether or not credit is to be consumed is made based on a prescribedskill condition regarding the difference between the timing of thearrival of an instructing object at a prescribed position and the timingof a striking operation by a player.

FIG. 14 shows a game screen of a timing game according to the presentembodiment.

In the timing game according to the present embodiment, the timing of astriking operation is adjusted to the timing of the arrival of aninstructing object at a prescribed position, and the skill of thestriking operation is evaluated in accordance with the time offsetbetween the instructed timing and the timing of the striking operation,in a so-called music game. In the example shown in FIG. 14, on the gamescreen G500 of the timing game are displayed a credit display objectCR50 representing the amount of credit held by the player, three lanes,L51, L52, and L53, and an instructing object IO50. The lanes L51, L52,and L53 are movement paths of the instructing object IO50, whichinstructs the player regarding the timing for a striking operation. Theleft lane L51 corresponds to a striking operation in the left-sideregion of the operation acceptance regions of the drum 13, and the rightlane L53 corresponds to a striking operation in the right-side region ofthe operation acceptance regions of the drum 13. The center lane L53corresponds to a striking operation in either the left-side region orthe right-side region of the operation acceptance regions of the drum13.

The instructing object IO50 appears from the top edge of the game screenG500 with the advancement of a melody and moves along one of the lanesL51, L52, and L53 in the direction indicated by the arrow AR50. A playermakes a striking operation with respect to the operation acceptanceregion of the drum 13 corresponding to each lane, adjusting the timingto the arrival of the instructing object IO50 at the judgment line JL50.If the striking operation satisfies a prescribed skill condition, thegame machine 10A consumes a prescribed amount of credit held by theplayer and determines a reward to be paid out to the player.

Next, the types of instructing objects in the present embodiment will bedescribed.

FIG. 15 to FIG. 18 are provided to describe the instructing objects andoperations made with respect to these game objects according to thepresent embodiment.

There are two types of instructing objects in the present embodiment, asingle-shot operation object and a continuous operation object,depending upon the striking operation instructed by the instructingobject.

The single-shot operation object is an instructing object correspondingto striking the drum 13 one time or the like. In the present embodiment,the single-shot operation object is displayed as a circular image andinstructs the timing of a striking operation at the point at whichcenter thereof reaches the judgment line JL50.

A continuous operation object is an instructing object corresponding tostriking the drum 13 continuously more than one time or the like. In thepresent embodiment, the continuous operation object is displayed as arectangular graphic and instructs the timing of a striking operationduring the time in which a part of the rectangle is overlapped with thejudgment line JL50.

Specifically, on the game screen G510 shown in FIG. 15, the single-shotoperation object IO50-1 moves on the left lane L51 in the direction ofthe arrow AR51. That is, the single-shot operation object IO50-1instructs the player to strike the left-side region of the operationacceptance regions of the drum 13 at the timing of the center positionof the single-shot operation object IO50-1 reaching the judgment lineJL50. The single-shot operation object IO50-2 moves on the right lineL52 in the direction of the arrow AR51. That is, the single-shotoperation object IO50-2 instructs the player to strike the right-sideregion of the operation acceptance regions of the drum 13 at the timingof the center position of the single-shot operation object IO50-2reaching the judgment line JL50.

On the game screen G520 shown in FIG. 16, the continuous operationobject IO50-3 moves on the left lane in the direction of the arrow AR52.That is, the continuous operation object IO50-3 instructs the player tocontinue to strike the left-side region of the operation acceptanceregions of the drum 13 from the time that the leading end of thecontinuous operation object IO50-3 reaches the judgment line JL50 untilthe trailing end thereof passes the judgment line JL50. The continuousoperation object IO50-4 moves on the right lane L52 in the direction ofthe arrow AR52. That is, the continuous operation object IO50-4instructs the player to strike the right-side region of the operationacceptance regions of the drum 13 from the time that the leading end ofthe continuous operation object IO50-4 reaches the judgment line JL50until the trailing end thereof passes the judgment line JL50.

On the game screen G530 shown in FIG. 17, a single-shot operation objectIO50-5 moves along the center lane L53 in the direction of the arrowAR53. That is, the single-shot operation object IO50-5 instructs theplayer to strike at least one of the left-side and right-side regions ofthe operation acceptance regions of the drum 13 at the timing at whichthe center position of the single-shot operation object IO50-5 reachesthe judgment line JL50.

On the game screen G540 shown in FIG. 18, a continuous operation objectIO50-6 moves on the center lane L53 in the direction of the arrow AR54.That is, the continuous operation object IO50-6 instructs the player tocontinue to strike at least one of the left-side or the right-sideregion of the operation acceptance regions of the drum from the timethat the leading end of the continuous operation object IO50-6 reachesthe judgment line JL50 until the trailing end thereof passes thejudgment line JL50.

The operation acceptance regions indicated by each of the lanes are notrestricted to the above. For example, the center lane L53 may correspondto simultaneously striking the left-side and the right-side regions ofthe drum 13. Each lane may provide instructions, for example, to pressthe operating button 15 or to make a touch operation on an instructingobject or lane on the touch panel 12.

(Functional Constitution of the Game Machine 10A)

Next, the functional constitution of the game machine 10A will bedescribed.

FIG. 19 shows the functional constitution of the game machine 10Aaccording to the present embodiment.

The game machine 10A has a storage 110A and a first game executing unit160A in place of the storage 110 and the first game executing unit 160of the game machine 10.

The storage 110A has an object data storage 111A and a skill conditiondata storage 113A in place of, respectively, the object data storage 111and the skill condition data storage 113 of the storage 110. The storage110A further has a sequence data storage 114A.

The object data storage 111A, similar to the object data storage 111,stores object data. In the present embodiment, however, the form of theobject data differs from the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 shows an example of the object data according to the presentembodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 20, the object data D111A is constituted bydrawing reward information (drawing rewards) and drawing probability(winning probability), associated with instructing object IDs.Association can also be made of the operation credit with each of theinstructing object IDs.

The instructing object ID according to the present embodiment, similarto the instructing objects in the first embodiment, is uniqueidentification information for instructing objects. The instructingobject IDs in the present embodiment, however, differ from those of thefirst embodiment in that they include information of the lane in whichthe instructing object is to be displayed.

For example, the value of an instructing object ID is constituted bycombining the lane position on the game screen and an identificationnumber. Specifically, in the object data D111A, the instructing objectshaving the instructing object IDs L1 and L2 are displayed in the leftlane L51. The instructing objects having the instructing object IDs R1and R2 are displayed in the right lane L52. The instructing objectshaving the instructing object IDs C1 and C2 are displayed in the centerlane L53.

The instructing object ID need not include lane information, and thelane information may be included in the object data D111A as anattribute indicating the lane information that is separate from theinstructing object ID.

The skill condition data storage 113A, similar to the skill conditionstorage 113, stores skill condition data. In the present embodiment,however, the form of the skill condition data differs from the firstembodiment. In the present embodiment, the difference between theoperation timing of accepting a striking operation and an instructedtiming instructed by an instructing object being a value within aprescribed range is established as the skill condition. In this case,the reference value of the time offset between the operation timing andthe instructed timing is coded in the skill condition data. Thereference value may be coded individually for each lane, for eachinstructing object, or may be a value that differs depending upon themelody. By doing this, the game machine 10A can vary the level ofdifficulty for each lane, for each instructing object, and for eachmelody.

The sequence data storage 114A stores sequence data. Sequence dataincludes a condition definition part and an operation sequence part. Thecondition definition part has coded therein, for example, informationspecifying execution of games that differ for each melody, such asinformation specifying the tempo, beat, and track of a melody, and thesound effects to be played back when each of the instructing objects isoperated. The condition definition part may be provided only at thestart of the sequence data, or the condition definition part may beadded at an appropriate part midway in the operation sequence part. Bydoing this, processing such as changing the melody tempo or applyingsound effects can be implemented.

In the operation sequence part is coded the timing that operationsshould be made with respect to each instructing object. That is, theoperation sequence part is constituted as a set of a plurality ofrecords in which the timing at which operations should be made during amelody is coded.

FIG. 21 shows an example of the operation sequence part of sequence dataaccording to the present embodiment.

In the example shown in FIG. 21, the operation sequence data part of thesequence data D113A is constituted by operation start timing information(“operation start instruction timing” in FIG. 21), operation endinstruction timing (“operation end instruction timing” in FIG. 21), andinstructing object IDs (“instructing object ID” in FIG. 21), inassociation with each other.

The operation start timing information represents the start timing of astriking operation.

The operation end instruction timing information represents the endtiming of a striking operation. In the case of a single-shot operationobject, only the operation start instruction timing information iscoded, and the operation end instruction timing information is notcoded.

The operation start instruction timing information and the operation endinstruction timing information, for example, are coded using the barnumber, beat number, and time within a beat of the melody. The timewithin a beat is the elapsed time from the start of the beat and isexpressed by dividing the beat uniformly into n time units andrepresenting the time as the number of units (hereinafter sometimesreferred to as frames) from the start of the beat. For example, ifn=100, to refer to an operation timing that is ¼ past the start of thesecond beat in the first bar of a melody, “01, 2, 025” is coded.Regarding the operation start instruction timing and the operation endinstruction timing, it is not necessary to code referenced to a beat,and another unit, such as seconds, may be used in coding.

In the example shown in FIG. 21, the operation start instruction timingt1 does not have an associated operation end instruction timing and hasL1 associated with it as the instructing object ID. That is, the recordon the operation start instruction timing t1 line indicates that asingle-shot operation object having the instruction object ID L1instructs the timing t1 as the operation timing. In the example shown inFIG. 21, the operation end instruction timing information t6 and L2 asthe instructing object ID are associated with the operation startinstruction timing information t5. That is, the record on the operationstart instruction timing t5 line indicates that the continuous operationobject having the instructing object ID L2 instructs the time from t5 tot6 as the timing of an operation.

The first game executing unit 160A has a game object processor 161A, askill evaluator 162A, a game value consuming unit 163A, and a gamereward determination unit 164A in place of the object processor 161, theskill evaluator 162, the game value consuming unit 163, and the gamereward determination unit 164 of the first game executing unit 160.

The game object processor 161A, similar to the game object processor161, controls the disposition and change of the presentation of variousgame objects on the game screen. However, the game object processor 161Ais different from the first embodiment with regard to the point ofcontrolling the display of game objects based on sequence data. Thecontrol of the display of instructing objects by the game objectprocessor 161A, that is, so-called sequence processing, will now bedescribed.

First, the game object processor 161A acquires the current time in themelody. The game object processor 161A, for example, with the playbackstarting time of the melody as a reference, starts keeping time by aninternal clock of the game machine 10A, and acquires the current timefrom the value of the internal clock. Next, the game object processor161A, of the sequence data, acquires sequence data in which at least theoperation start instruction timing information and the operation endinstruction timing information are included within the time periodcorresponding to the display range. In this case, the display range, forexample, corresponds to a time range from the current time until twobars into the future.

Next, the game object processor 161A acquires the coordinates within thegame screen of all the instructing objects to be displayed on each lane.Specifically, the game object processor 161A first distinguishes onwhich of the lanes each instructing object is to be disposed. Then, thegame object processor 161A, distinguishes the position from the judgmentline in the time-axis direction (that is, the direction of movement ofthe instructing object) of each instructing object, in accordance withthe time difference between the instructed timing of each instructingobject and the current time. By doing this, the game object processor161A can acquire the coordinates of each instructing object required fordisposing the instructing objects on each lane along the time axis. Thegame object processor 161A then, based on the acquired coordinates ofeach instructing object, disposes the instructing objects on the gamescreen.

The skill evaluator 162A, similar to the skill evaluator 162, evaluatesthe skill of a striking operation by a player, based on whether or not aprescribed skill condition is satisfied. As noted above, however, theskill condition is different from the first embodiment. The evaluationof skill by the skill evaluator 162A will now be described.

The skill evaluator 162A first acquires from the operation acceptor 120game operation information representing a striking operation. Next, theskill evaluator 162A, based on the game operation information,determines the operation acceptance region in which the operation wasmade and the operation timing (time within the melody). Next, the skillevaluator 162A identifies, from among the instructed timings coded inthe sequence data, instructed timings regarding the operation acceptanceregion in which the operation was made. Next, the skill evaluator 162A,of the identified instructed timings, extracts the instructed timingfrom among the identified instructing timings that is the closest to theoperation timing and acquires the time offset between the extractedinstructed timing and the operation timing.

Next, the skill evaluator 162A determines the evaluation with respect tothe player operation, based on the acquired time offset. Specifically,the skill evaluator 162A determines whether or not the acquired timeoffset is smaller than the reference value coded in the skill conditiondata. If the time offset is smaller than the reference value, the skillevaluator 162A determines that the striking operation satisfies theskill condition. If the time offset is not smaller than the referencevalue, the skill evaluator 162A determines that the striking operationdoes not satisfy the skill condition. The skill evaluator 162A outputsthe determination result to the game object processor 161A, the gamevalue consuming unit 163A, and the game reward determination unit 164A.The skill evaluator 162A need not output the determination result to thegame reward determination unit 164A, in which case, for example, thegame value consuming unit 163A outputs to the game reward determinationunit 164A information indicating that the game value consuming unit 163Ahas consumed a prescribed amount of game value.

If reference values are coded in the skill condition data that differfor each lane, for each instructing object, and for each melody, theskill evaluator 162A reads out from the skill condition data thereference values corresponding to each lane, each instructing object,and each melody for each striking operation to be evaluated and comparesthese with the time offsets. By doing this, the skill evaluator 162A canevaluate the skill of a striking operation using a criterion thatdiffers for each lane, instructing object, and melody. A lane, forexample, corresponds to an operation acceptance region of the drum 13.Therefore, the skill evaluator 162A, by comparing the time offset with areference value that differs for each lane, can vary the skill conditionin accordance with which of the operation acceptance regions acceptedthe striking operation, enabling it to change the level of difficult ofa striking operation for each operation acceptance region.

The game value consuming unit 163A, similar to the game value consumingunit 163, consumes credit, based on the result of the striking operationskill determination by the skill evaluator 162A.

The game reward determination unit 164A, similar to the game rewarddetermination unit 164, determines a reward, based on the result of thestriking operation skill determination by the skill evaluator 162A.

(Game Machine 10A Operation)

Next, the operation of the game machine 10A will be described.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the consumptiondetermination processing by the game machine 10A according to thepresent embodiment.

Of the processing shown in FIG. 22, because processing of steps S100,S101, and S108 to S114 is the same as processing shown in FIG. 12, thedescription thereof will be omitted.

(Step S1102) If the result of the determination processing at step S101is YES, the first game executing unit 160A, of the instructing objects,identifies the instructing object that is the closest to the timing atwhich the game operation was made. After that, the game object processor160A proceeds to the processing of step S1104.

(Step 1104) The first game executing unit 160A acquires the timingoffset between the operation timing instructed by the identifiedinstructing object and the operation timing. After that, the first gameexecuting unit 160A proceeds to the processing of step S1106.

(Step S1106) The first game executing unit 160A, by determining whetheror not the acquired time offset is within a prescribed amount of time,determines whether or not the skill condition is satisfied. If the timeoffset is within the prescribed amount of time (YES at step S1106), thefirst game executing unit 160A proceeds to the processing of step S108.If the time offset is not within the prescribed amount of time (NO atstep S1106), the first game executing unit 160A proceeds to theprocessing of step S114.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of sequenceprocessing by the game machine 10A according to the present embodiment.

(Step S120) The first game executing unit 160A acquires the currenttime. After that, the first game executing unit 160A proceeds to theprocessing of step S122.

(Step S122) The first game executing unit 160A acquires the sequencedata within the displayed range. After that, the first game executingunit 160A proceeds to the processing of step S124.

(Step S124) The first game executing unit 160A, based on the acquiredsequence data, calculates the coordinates of the position at which theinstructing object is disposed in the game screen. After that, the firstgame executing unit 160A proceeds to the processing of step S126.

(Step S126) The first game executing unit 160A, based on the calculatedcoordinates, generates image data of a game screen on which theinstructing object is disposed. After that, the first game executingunit 160A proceeds to the processing of step S128.

(Step S128) The first game executing unit 160A outputs the generatedimage data to the display 151, causing it to display the game screen onthe touch panel 12. After that, the first game executing unit 160Areturns to the processing of step S120.

In the present embodiment, two or more operation acceptance regions areprovided, and the amount of credit consumed may be changed, dependingupon which operation acceptance region has accepted a player operation.For example, the left-side region can consume a relatively large amountof credit when it accepts an operation by a player, and the right-sideregion can consume a relatively small amount of credit when it acceptsan operation by a player. Also, if an operation acceptance regiondiffering from the operation acceptance region specified by aninstructing object is operated, the prescribed amount of credit may bemade not to be consumed.

The reward determination method may change, depending upon whichoperation acceptance region of two or more operation acceptance regionshas accepted an operation by a player. Specifically, for example, if theleft-side region has accepted a player operation, a drawing may beexecuted that has a relatively low winning probability but a relativelyhigh reward value, and if the right-side region has accepted a playeroperation, a drawing may be executed that has a relatively high winningprobability but a relatively low reward value.

Summary of the Second Embodiment

As described above, the game machine 10A of the present invention has anoperation acceptor 120 that accepts a game operations by a player (forexample, striking operations) and a game value consuming unit 163A thatconsumes a prescribed amount of game value (for example, credit) if agame operation (for example, a striking operation) satisfies aprescribed skill condition.

By doing this, the game machine 10A consumes game value after evaluatingthe skill of a game operation. The game machine 10A, therefore, canchange the amount of game value consumed in accordance with the skill ofa game operation.

The game machine 10A according to the present embodiment further has adisplay 151 that displays game objects (for example, instructingobjects) that move within the screen. The prescribed skill condition isthe difference between the timing at which the game object reaches aprescribed position and the operation timing of a player accepted by theoperation acceptor 120 being within a prescribed range.

That is, the game machine 10A can determine whether or not a skillcondition has been satisfied based on the time difference between theinstructed timing instructed by an instructing object and the operationtiming of a game operation.

The operation acceptor 120 accepts game operations from a player withrespect to two or more operation acceptance regions, and the game valueconsuming unit 163A (an example of a game value consuming unit) changesthe prescribed skill condition in accordance with which of the two ormore operation acceptance regions accepted the player operation.

By doing this, the game machine 10A, for example, can make the criteriafor determining whether to consume game value different between theleft-side region and the right-side region of the striking surface ofthe drum 13.

The operation acceptor 120 accepts game operations from a player withrespect to two or more operation acceptance regions, and the game rewarddetermination unit 164A (an example of a game reward determination unit)changes the reward determination method in accordance with whichoperation acceptance region of the two operation acceptance regionsaccepted an operation by a player.

By doing this, because the game machine 10A can change the rewarddetermination method for a striking operation for each of the right-sideand left-side regions of the drum 13, it can achieve diversity in theform of the payout of game value.

Third Embodiment

(Overview of Game Machine 10B)

The third embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Inthe following the same reference symbols will be assigned to elementsthat are the same as in the above-described embodiments, and thedescriptions thereof will be incorporated herein.

FIG. 24 shows an overview of a game machine 10B of the presentinvention.

The game machine 10B according to the present embodiment has the samehardware constitution as the game machine 10 according to the firstembodiment and executes a timing game. However, the game machine 10Bdiffers from the game machine 10 according to the first embodiment withregard to varying the reward determination method in accordance with theamount of credit (hereinafter called “consumed credit”) that wasconsumed in a prescribed period of time and the amount of credit(hereinafter called “reward credit”) paid out during the prescribedperiod of time. Specifically, for example, if the ratio of the rewardcredit with respect to the consumed credit in a prescribed period oftime is lower than a prescribed reference value, that is, if the payoutrate is lower than the reference value, the game machine 10B increasesthe winning probability in a reward drawing or the reward value in thecase of winning in a drawing. In contrast, if the ratio of the rewardcredit with respect to the consumed credit in a prescribed period timeis higher than a prescribed reference value, that is, if the payout rateis higher than the reference value, the game machine 10B decreases thewinning probability in a reward drawing or the reward value in the caseof winning in a drawing. By doing this, because the future payout ratecan be adjusted based on the past payout rate, the game machine 10B canavoid having the payout rate diverge greatly from a prescribed referencevalue.

(Functional Constitution of the Game Machine 10B)

Next, the functional constitution of the game machine 10B will bedescribed.

FIG. 25 shows the functional constitution of the game machine 10Baccording to the present embodiment.

The game machine 10B has, a storage 110B and a first game executing unit160B in place of the storage 110 and the first game executing unit 160of the game machine 10 according to the first embodiment.

The storage 110B has an object data storage 111B in place of the objectdata storage 111 of the storage 110 according to the first embodiment.The storage 110B further has a sequence data storage 114B.

The object data storage 111B, similar to the object data storage 111,stores object data. In the present embodiment, however, the object datastorage 111B is different with regard to the point of storing two ormore object data having different expected values of paid out rewardwith respect to a player. In this case, object data having a high rewardexpected value is associated with a relatively low numerical range ofpayout ratio, and object data having a low reward expected value isassociated with a relatively high numerical range of payout ratio. As anexample, the difference between object data having a low reward expectedvalue and object data having a high reward expected value is describedbelow.

In the case of object data having a low reward expected value, a drawingreward having a low value or a low winning probability is associatedwith each instructing object ID. In contrast, in the case of object datahaving a high reward expected value, even for an object data ID includedin object data having a low reward expected value, a drawing rewardhaving a high value or a high winning probability is associatedtherewith. In this manner, with object data having a low reward expectedvalue, a reward having a relatively low expected value is associatedwith each instructing object. In contrast, with object data having ahigh reward expected value, a reward having a relatively high expectedvalue is associated with each instructing object.

The sequence data storage 114B stores sequence data which includes acondition definition part and an operation sequence part. The conditiondefinition part has coded therein, for example, information specifyingexecution of games that differ for each melody, such as informationspecifying the tempo, beat, and track of a melody, and the sound effectsto be played back when each of the instructing objects is operated. Thecondition definition part may be provided only at the start of thesequence data, or the condition definition part may be added at anappropriate part midway in the operation sequence part. By doing this,processing such as changing the melody tempo or applying sound effectscan be implemented.

The first game executing unit 160B has a game value consuming unit 163Band a game reward determination unit 164B in place of the game valueconsuming unit 163 and the game reward determination unit 164,respectively, of the first game executing unit 160. The first gameexecuting unit 160B further has a game value information acquisitionunit 165B.

Upon acceptance of game value information acquisition request from thegame reward determination unit 164B, the game value informationacquisition unit 165B references the play data stored in the sequencedata storage 114B. Next, the game value information acquisition unit165B, based on the referenced play data, acquires the consumed creditamount and reward credit amount in a prescribed time period. The gamevalue information acquisition unit 165B then outputs game valueinformation representing the acquired consumed credit amount and rewardcredit amount to the game reward determination unit 164B.

In this case, the prescribed period of time is, for example, a period oftime from a prescribed amount of time ago to the present. The length ofthe prescribed period of time may be of an arbitrary length, such as onehour, three hours, or one day. If the length of the prescribed period oftime is short, it is easy to maintain a constant payout ratio for eachplay, regardless of the timing of the play. If the length of theprescribed period of time is long, it is easy to vary the payout ratiofor each play by the timing of play, while maintaining the long-termpayout ratio.

Similar to the game value consuming unit 163 according to the firstembodiment, the game value consuming unit 163B consumes credit if astriking operation accepted from a player satisfies a prescribed skillcondition. However, the game value consuming unit 163B differs from thegame value consuming unit 163 according the first embodiment in that theconsumed credit is coded into the play data in association with date andtime information.

The game reward determination unit 164B, similar to the game rewarddetermination unit 164 according to the first embodiment, determines areward if a striking operation accepted from a player satisfies aprescribed skill condition. The game reward determination unit 164B,however, differs from the game reward determination unit 164 accordingto the first embodiment in that it changes the reward determinationmethod based on the game value information. If the skill evaluator 162determines that a striking operation satisfies the prescribed skillcondition, the game reward determination unit 164B makes a game valueinformation acquisition request with respect to the game valueinformation acquisition unit 165B and acquires the game valueinformation.

Next, the game reward determination unit 164B acquires the payout rate,based on the consumed credit amount and the reward credit amount in theprescribed time period represented by the game value informationacquired from the game value information acquisition unit 165B. Thepayout rate, for example, can be acquired by dividing the reward creditamount by the consumed credit amount. Next, the game rewarddetermination unit 164B identifies one object data from two or moreobject data stored in the object data storage 111B in accordance withthe acquired payout ratio. Next, the game reward determination unit164B, from the identified object data, extracts object data regarding aninstructing object to which the striking operation was allocated. Next,the game reward determination unit 164B determines the reward, based onthe extracted object data. By doing this, the game reward determinationunit 164B can change the reward determination method in accordance withthe payout rate in a prescribed period of time. If credit is to be paidout as the reward by the game reward determination unit 164B, the creditamount to be paid out is coded in the play data in association with thedate and time.

The information of the payout rate in a prescribed period of time is oneexample of game value information and is not a restriction. For example,the difference value between the reward credit amount and consumedcredit amount in a prescribed period of time may be calculated from thegame value information and the reward determination method may bechanged using this difference value. Although in the above whendetermining the reward one object data is identified from two or moreobject data in accordance with the payout rate, this is not arestriction. For example, the reward may be determined by multiplyingthe object data taken as the reference by a coefficient in accordancewith the payout rate. Specifically, if the payout rate is relativelylow, the drawing reward value or the winning probability is multipliedby a relatively high coefficient (for example, 1.2), and if the payoutrate is relatively high, the drawing reward value or the winningprobability is multiplied by a relatively low coefficient (for example0.8).

(Operation of Game Machine 10B)

Next, the operation of the game machine 10B will be described.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of rewarddetermination method selection processing according to the presentembodiment.

The processing shown in FIG. 26 corresponds to the processing of stepS110 shown in FIG. 12.

(Step S130) The first game executing unit 160B references the play datastored in the play data storage 115B and acquires game value informationrepresenting the consumed credit amount and reward credit amount in aprescribed period of time. After that, the first game executing unit160B proceeds to the processing of step S132.

(Step S132) The first game executing unit 160B selects the rewarddetermination method, based on the acquired game value information.Specifically, the first game executing unit 160B calculates the payoutrate during the prescribed period of time, based on the consumed creditamount and reward credit amount represented by the game valueinformation. Next, the first game executing unit 160B identifies theobject data corresponding to the calculated payout rate. Next, the firstgame executing unit 160B, of the identified object data, extracts theobject data regarding the instructing object to which the strikingoperation was allocated. The first game executing unit 160B makes adrawing based on the extracted object data and, if there is a win, paysout a drawing reward. After that, the first game executing unit 160Bends the processing shown in FIG. 26.

Summary of the Third Embodiment

As described above, the game machine 10B according to the presentembodiment further has a game value information acquisition unit thatacquires game value information that represents the amount of game valueconsumed in a prescribed period of time and the game value paid out inthe prescribed period of time, and the game reward determination unitchanges the method of determining the reward based on the game valueinformation.

Because the reward content and winning probability can be changed inaccordance with the game value consumed and game value paid out in aprescribed period of time, the game machine 10B can grant a reward to aplayer in a form in which the game value consumed amount and payoutamount do not exhibit a large unbalance.

Fourth Embodiment

The fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Inthe following, the same reference symbols will be assigned to elementsthat are the same as in the above-described embodiments, and thedescriptions thereof will be incorporated herein.

The game machine 10C according to the present embodiment has the samehardware constitution as the game machine 10 according to the firstembodiment and executes a timing game. However, the game machine 10Cdiffers from the game machine 10 in that it consumes credit if a gameoperation does not satisfy skill evaluation and later returns creditthat was consumed.

FIG. 27 shows an example of an instructing object according to avariation example.

In the example shown in FIG. 27, the judgment line JL51 is a circlehaving its center at a prescribed center point P51. The instructingobject IO51 appears to spurt outward from the prescribed center pointP51 and is a circular object having a diameter that increases with theelapse of time (in the direction of the arrows 55-1, 55-2, 55-3, and55-4). The instructing object IO51 instructs the operation timing atwhich it overlaps with the judgment line JL51. In this manner, aninstructing object may be an object that instructs regarding the timingby changing its shape.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the game machines 10, 10A,and 10B may, rather than accepting the insertion of a medal M, acceptinsertion of money, such as a bill or coin, a medium such as a cardhaving an internal storage that records data of the money or a ticket onwhich is recorded a printed code, or a medium in which a medium ID andmoney data are associated in a medium management server. The gamemachines 10, 10A, and 10B may, rather than paying out the insertion of amedal M, eject bills or coins, a card having an internal storage thatrecords data of the money or a ticket on which is recorded a printedcode, or a medium in which a medium ID and money data are associated ina medium management server. Such a game machine 10, 10A, or 10B is used,for example, in a casino.

In the above-described embodiments, the payout of credit that was notconsumed may be made in an arbitrary form. For example, if medals Minserted into the medal inserter unit 18 are temporarily stocked and astriking operation is not satisfied, the game value recovery unit 166Cof the game machine 10C may pass the medals M that were not consumed asis to the medal payout unit 17 for return to the player. Also, forexample, in the game machine 10C, if a shooting game is to be executed,if a prescribed amount of credit is consumed when shooting and thetarget was not hit, the game value recovery unit 166C may distinguishthe consumed amount of credit as credit to be returned, and may recoverthe credit. The returning unit 140 returns to the player all or a partof the credit to be returned at a prescribed timing.

The amount of credit returned may be established by an internal drawing,in which case, for example, the proportion to be returned is determinedby the drawing. The return of credit may be done at the timing ofdetermining that each game operation does not satisfy the prescribedskill condition, or may be done after the end of a plurality of gameoperations or at the end of a prescribed period of time (interval). Inthis case, the game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may return all or a partof the credit to be returned that had be accumulated (recovered) duringthe time from the return to the next return timing.

The game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may return as credit to be recoveredcredit that was consumed while consuming a prescribed amount of creditin according to the game operations without satisfying the prescribedskill condition. The game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may grant a rewardbased on the credit to be recovered. When this is done, the addition ofa free game or a bonus game or points or an item in a game differentfrom credit may be provided as a reward. For example, in the gamemachine 10, if a shooting game is to be executed, if the prescribedamount of credit is consumed during shooting but the target was not hit,the amount of credit consumed is distinguished as credit to be recoveredand is recovered. At a prescribed timing, the game machine 10 executes abonus game, based on the amount of accumulated credit to be recovered.The bonus game may be made a free game that does not require theconsumption of credit, or may be a game that can be played by consumingthe credit that was to be recovered. The bonus game reward expectedvalue may be set to be higher, the greater is the amount of accumulatedcredit to be recovered.

Although in the above-described embodiments the description has been forthe case in which the determination of credit consumption and the rewardare made in linked fashion, this is not a restriction. If the prescribedskill condition is not satisfied, one of the consumption of credit andthe determination of the reward may be executed first, these beingexecuted independently.

Although the above-described embodiments are described for the case inwhich, as one example, if a game operation satisfies a prescribed skillcondition an amount of credit that was specified as the bet amount bythe player is consumed, this is not a restriction. For example, if agame operation is made, the game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may generateas a bonus object a game object that consumes an amount of credit thatis less than normal, or a game object that consumes no credit. If a gameoperation satisfying the prescribed skill condition is made with respectto this bonus object, the game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may grant areward in the same manner as for a normal game object.

Also, for example, the game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may execute abonus game (free game) if a prescribed condition is satisfied. Duringthe bonus game, with regard to all the game objects that are targets forgame operations, the amount of credit consumed may be reduced or nocredit may be consumed.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a game operation may be madein an arbitrary form. Specifically, for example, the operation ofstriking the edge of the striking surface of the drum 13 may be detectedas a striking operation different from a striking operation near thecenter of the striking surface. Also, for example, in the game machines10 and 10B to 10G, an operation of touching the player object PO10displayed on the touch panel 12 may be treated the same as a strikingoperation on the drum 13. In the game machine 10A, for example, anoperation of touching the instructing object IO50 or the judgment lineJL50 may be treated the same as a striking operation on the drum 13.

A variation example of a game operation will now be described.

FIG. 28 shows an example of a bet operation according to a variationexample.

In the bet operation of the variation example shown in FIG. 28, theplayer strikes a pair of two sticks 14 together. This operation, forexample, increases the unit amount of credit consumed (the so-called betamount). In this condition, if a striking operation is made, rather thanincreasing the amount of credit that is consumed each time, the contentof the reward or the winning probability is increased, and a drawingwith a high expected value is made. In this manner, the game machines10, 10A, and 10B may accept an operation made by an arbitrary operationmethod as an arbitrary game operation, a bet operation, or the like, andan arbitrary operation other than those described above may also beaccepted.

In the above-described embodiments, the skill condition may beestablished in a plurality of steps. For example, in the skill conditiondata according to the first and third embodiments, a plurality ofreference distances may be established. In this case, for example, ifthe distance between the player object and the instructing objectsatisfies a distance range closer than among a plurality of referencedistances, more credit is consumed, and a drawing with a high expectedvalue is made. In contrast, if the distance between the player objectand the instructing object satisfies a distance range further away thanamong a plurality of reference distances, less credit is consumed, and adrawing with a low expected value is made. In this manner, a pluralityof skill conditions with different degrees of difficulty may beestablished to determine the consumed credit and the reward inaccordance with the striking operation skill.

In the above-described embodiments, if the maximum bet has been made,the game machines 10 and 10A to 10G may grant an additional reward orgrant the opportunity to obtain an additional reward. In this case, themaximum bet is the specification of the maximum bet amount with respectto all the targets that can be bet on (for example, all game objects orall operation acceptance regions).

If a game operation has satisfied the skill condition, the game machines10 and 10A to 10G may generate a bonus object that only consumes arelatively small amount of credit or an instructing object (bonusobject) that does not consume credit (has a consumed amount of zero). Ifa game operation satisfying a prescribed skill condition is made withrespect to such a bonus object, the game reward is determined in thesame manner as for a normal instructing object. The game machines 10 and10A to 10G may be made to generate a bonus game (free game) inaccordance with the advancement of the game and, with regard to all theinstructing objects that are targets of game operations in the bonusgame, may be made to reduce the amount of credit consumed or made not toconsume credit.

In one aspect of the invention, a game machine may include, but is notlimited to, a game operation acceptance device configured to accept oneor more game operations by a player; a skill evaluating deviceconfigured to determine whether or not the one or more game operationsthat are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy one ormore predefined skill conditions; and a game value consuming deviceconfigured to consume a game value in case that the skill evaluatingdevice determined that the one or more game operations by the playerwhich are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy theone or more predefined skill conditions.

In some cases, the game value consuming device is configured to consumethe game value at zero amount or a less amount in case that the skillevaluating device determined that the one or more game operations by theplayer which are accepted by the game operation acceptance device do notsatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions, than an amount bywhich the game value would be consumed in case that the skill evaluatingdevice determined that the one or more game operations by the playerwhich are accepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy theone or more predefined skill conditions.

In some cases, the game operation acceptance device is configured toaccept the one or more game operations in case that a more mount of thegame value is accumulated than a predefined amount.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a skill evaluation output device configured to output a result ofthe determination by the skill evaluating device. The skill evaluationoutput device is configured to output a result of the determination bythe skill evaluating device even if the skill evaluating devicedetermined that the one or more game operations that are accepted by thegame operation acceptance device do not satisfy one or more predefinedskill conditions.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a game reward determination device configured to determine a rewardto the one or more game operations in case that the skill evaluationdevice determined that the one or more game operations that are acceptedsatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.

In some cases, the game reward determination device is configured todetermine a reward to the one or more game operations in case that thegame value consuming device consumed the game value when the skillevaluating device determined that the one or more game operations by theplayer which are accepted by the game operation acceptance devicesatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.

In some cases, the game reward determination device is configured todetermine the reward to the one or more game operations in a processwhich comprises drawing.

In some cases, the game reward determination device is configured tomake, by the process which comprises drawing, at least one of adetermination of whether to pay out the game value as the reward and adetermination on an pay-out amount by which the game value is paid outas the reward.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a game value information acquiring device configured to acquire agame value information which represents a consumed amount of the gamevalue which has been consumed in a predefined period of time and apaid-out amount of the game value which has been paid-out in thepredefined period of time. The game reward determination device isconfigured to determine the reward based on the consumed amount of thegame value and the paid-out amount of the game value.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a display device configured to display a plurality of game objectsof different types which are moving over a screen of the display device.The game reward determination device is configured to determine a rewardbased on the type of the game object which corresponds to the one ormore game operations of the player which are accepted by the gameoperation accepting device in case that the skill evaluating devicedetermined that the one or more game operations satisfy the one or moreskill conditions.

In some cases, the game operation acceptance device is configured toaccept one or more game operations by the player to plural operationacceptance regions. The game reward determination device is configuredto determine a reward determination method for determining a rewardbased on which operation acceptance region of the plural operationacceptance regions accepted the one or more game operations by theplayer.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a display device configured to display a plurality of game objectsof different types which are moving over a screen of the display device.The predefined skill condition is that a difference between a reachtiming at which the game object reached at a predefined position and anoperation timing of operation by the player which is accepted by thegame operation accepting device is in a predefined range.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a display device configured to display a plurality of game objectsof different types which are moving over a screen of the display device.The predefined skill condition is that a distance between a position ofa game object and a position specified based on the game operation bythe player which is accepted by the game operation accepting device isin a predefined range.

In some cases, the game machine may further include, but is not limitedto, a display device configured to display a plurality of game objectsof different types which are moving over a screen of the display device.The game value consuming device is configured to consume an amount ofthe game value, where the amount varies depending upon different typesof the game objects which correspond to the game operations in case thatthe skill evaluating device determined that the game operations by theplayer which are accepted by the game operation acceptance devicesatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.

In some cases, the game operation accepting device is configured toaccept one or more game operations by the player to plural operationacceptance regions. The skill determining device is configured todetermine the one or more skill conditions based on which operationacceptance region of the plural operation acceptance regions acceptedthe one or more game operations by the player.

In another aspect of the invention, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium includes a computer-readable program, when executed by acomputer, to cause the computer to at least: accept one or more gameoperations by a player; determine whether or not the one or more gameoperations that are accepted satisfy one or more predefined skillconditions; and consume a game value in case that the skill evaluatingdevice determined that the one or more game operations by the playerwhich are accepted satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.

Each element or device for the game apparatus described above can beimplemented by hardware with or without software. In some cases, thegame apparatus may be implemented by one or more hardware processors andone or more software components wherein the one or more softwarecomponents are to be executed by the one or more hardware processors toimplement each element or device for the game apparatus. In some othercases, the game apparatus may be implemented by a system of circuits orcircuitry configured to perform each operation of each element or devicefor the game apparatus.

The systems and methods in the above-described embodiments may bedeployed in part or in whole through a machine or circuitry thatexecutes computer software, software components, program codes, and/orinstructions on one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe part of a general-purpose computer, a server, a cloud server, aclient, network infrastructure, mobile computing platform, stationarycomputing platform, or other computing platform. One or more processorsmay be any kind of computational or processing device or devices whichare capable of executing program instructions, codes, binaryinstructions and the like. The one or more processors may be or includea signal processor, digital processor, embedded processor,microprocessor or any variants such as a co-processor, for example, mathco-processor, graphic co-processor, communication co-processor and thelike that may directly or indirectly facilitate execution of programcodes or program instructions stored thereon. In addition, the one ormore processors may enable execution of multiple programs, threads, andcodes. The threads may be executed simultaneously to enhance theperformance of the one or more processors and to facilitate simultaneousoperations of the application. Program codes, program instructions andthe like described herein may be implemented in one or more threads. Theone or more processors may include memory that stores codes,instructions and programs as described herein. The processor may accessa non-transitory processor-readable storage medium through an interfacethat may store codes, instructions and programs as described herein andelsewhere. The non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumassociated with the processor for storing programs, codes, programinstructions or other type of instructions capable of being executed bythe computing or processing device may include but may not be limited toone or more of a memory, hard disk, flash drive, RAM, ROM, CD-ROM, DVD,cache and the like.

A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed andperformance of a multiprocessor. In some embodiments, the process may bea dual core processor, quad core processors, other chip-levelmultiprocessor and the like that combine two or more independent cores.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through a machine that executes computer software on a server,client, firewall, gateway, hub, router, or other such computer and/ornetworking hardware.

The software program may be associated with one or more client that mayinclude a file client, print client, domain client, internet client,intranet client and other variants such as secondary client, hostclient, distributed client and the like. The client may include one ormore of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media,physical and virtual ports, communication devices, and interfacescapable of accessing other clients, servers, machines, and devicesthrough a wired or a wireless medium, and the like. The programs orcodes as described herein may be executed by the client. In addition,other devices required for execution of methods as described in thisapplication may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associatedwith the client. The client may provide an interface to other devicesincluding servers, other clients, printers, database servers, printservers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers andthe like. This coupling and/or connection may facilitate remoteexecution of program across the network. The networking of some or allof these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a program ormethod at one or more location. In addition, any of the devices attachedto the client through an interface may include at least one storagemedium capable of storing methods, programs, applications, code and/orinstructions. A central repository may provide program instructions tobe executed on different devices. In this implementation, the remoterepository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions,and programs.

The software program may be associated with one or more servers that mayinclude a file server, print server, domain server, internet server,intranet server and other variants such as secondary server, hostserver, distributed server and the like. The server may include one ormore of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media,physical and virtual ports, communication devices, and interfacescapable of accessing other servers, clients, machines, and devicesthrough a wired or a wireless medium, and the like. The methods,programs or codes as described herein may be executed by the server. Inaddition, other devices required for execution of methods as describedin this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructureassociated with the server. The server may provide an interface to otherdevices including clients, other servers, printers, database servers,print servers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers,social networks, and the like. This coupling and/or connection mayfacilitate remote execution of program across the network. Thenetworking of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallelprocessing of a program or method at one or more locations. Any of thedevices attached to the server through an interface may include at leastone storage medium capable of storing programs, codes and/orinstructions. A central repository may provide program instructions tobe executed on different devices. In this implementation, the remoterepository may act as a storage medium for program codes, instructions,and programs.

The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or inwhole through network infrastructures. The network infrastructure mayinclude elements such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs,firewalls, clients, personal computers, communication devices, routingdevices and other active and passive devices, modules and/or componentsas known in the art. The computing and/or non-computing devicesassociated with the network infrastructure may include, apart from othercomponents, a storage medium such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM,ROM and the like. The processes, methods, program codes, instructionsdescribed herein and elsewhere may be executed by one or more of thenetwork infrastructural elements.

The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein may beimplemented on a cellular network having multiple cells. The cellularnetwork may either be frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networkor code division multiple access (CDMA) network. The cellular networkmay include mobile devices, cell sites, base stations, repeaters,antennas, towers, and the like. The cell network may be a GSM, GPRS, 3G,EVDO, mesh, or other networks types.

The methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein andelsewhere may be implemented on or through mobile devices. The mobiledevices may include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones,mobile personal digital assistants, laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers,electronic books readers, music players and the like. These devices mayinclude, apart from other components, a storage medium such as a flashmemory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices. Thecomputing devices associated with mobile devices may be enabled toexecute program codes, methods, and instructions stored thereon.Alternatively, the mobile devices may be configured to executeinstructions in collaboration with other devices. The mobile devices maycommunicate with base stations interfaced with servers and configured toexecute program codes. The mobile devices may communicate on a peer topeer network, mesh network, or other communications network. The programcode may be stored on the storage medium associated with the server andexecuted by a computing device embedded within the server. The basestation may include a computing device and a storage medium. The storagedevice may store program codes and instructions executed by thecomputing devices associated with the base station.

The computer software, program codes, and/or instructions may be storedand/or accessed on machine readable media that may include: computercomponents, devices, and recording media that retain digital data usedfor computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known asrandom access memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more permanentstorage, such as optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like harddisks, tapes, drums, cards and other types; processor registers, cachememory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage such asCD, DVD; removable media such as flash memory, for example, USB sticksor keys, floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards,standalone RAM disks, Zip drives, removable mass storage, off-line, andthe like; other computer memory such as dynamic memory, static memory,read/write storage, mutable storage, read only, random access,sequential access, location addressable, file addressable, contentaddressable, network attached storage, storage area network, bar codes,magnetic ink, and the like.

The methods, devices, apparatus, and systems described herein maytransform physical and/or or intangible items from one state to another.The methods and systems described herein may also transform datarepresenting physical and/or intangible items from one state to another.

The modules, engines, components, and elements described herein,including in flow charts and block diagrams throughout the figures,imply logical boundaries between the modules, engines, components, andelements. However, according to software or hardware engineeringpractices, the modules, engines, components, and elements and thefunctions thereof may be implemented on one or more processors,computers, machines through computer executable media, which are capableof executing program instructions stored thereon as a monolithicsoftware structure, as standalone software modules, or as modules thatemploy external routines, codes, services, or any combination of these,and all such implementations may be within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Examples of such machines may include, but is not limitedto, personal digital assistants, laptops, personal computers, mobilephones, other handheld computing devices, medical equipment, wired orwireless communication devices, transducers, chips, calculators,satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets, electronic devices,devices having artificial intelligence, computing devices, networkingequipment, servers, routers, processor-embedded eyewear and the like.Furthermore, the modules, engines, components, and elements in the flowchart and block diagrams or any other logical component may beimplemented on one or more machines, computers or processors capable ofexecuting program instructions. Whereas the foregoing descriptions anddrawings to which the descriptions have been referred set forth somefunctional aspects of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangementof software for implementing these functional aspects should be inferredfrom these descriptions unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear fromthe context. It will also be appreciated that the various stepsidentified and described above may be varied, and that the order ofsteps may be adapted to particular applications of the techniquesdisclosed herein. All such variations and modifications are intended tofall within the scope of this disclosure. The descriptions of an orderfor various steps should not be understood to require a particular orderof execution for those steps, unless required by a particularapplication, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.

The methods and/or processes described above, and steps thereof, may berealized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware andsoftware suitable for a particular application. The hardware may includea general purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device or specificcomputing device or particular aspect or component of a specificcomputing device. The processes may be realized in one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers,programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device,along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, orinstead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, aprogrammable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other deviceor combination of devices that may be configured to process electronicsignals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of theprocesses may be realized as a computer executable code capable of beingexecuted on a machine readable medium.

The computer executable code may be created using a structuredprogramming language such as C, an object oriented programming languagesuch as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language(including assembly languages, hardware description languages, anddatabase programming languages and technologies) that may be stored,compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well asheterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, orcombinations of different hardware and software, or any other machinecapable of executing program instructions.

Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinationsthereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executingon one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In anotheraspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the stepsthereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, orall of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalonedevice or other hardware. In another aspect, the means for performingthe steps associated with the processes described above may include anyof the hardware and/or software described above. All such permutationsand combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

While certain embodiments of the present inventions have been described,these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and arenot intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novelembodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the embodiments described herein may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and theirequivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as wouldfall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game machine comprising: a game operationacceptance device configured to accept one or more game operations by aplayer; a skill evaluating device configured to determine whether or notthe one or more game operations that are accepted by the game operationacceptance device satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions; and agame value consuming device configured to consume a game value in casethat the skill evaluating device determined that the one or more gameoperations by the player which are accepted by the game operationacceptance device satisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.2. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the game valueconsuming device is configured to consume the game value at zero amountor a less amount in case that the skill evaluating device determinedthat the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted bythe game operation acceptance device do not satisfy the one or morepredefined skill conditions, than an amount by which the game valuewould be consumed in case that the skill evaluating device determinedthat the one or more game operations by the player which are accepted bythe game operation acceptance device satisfy the one or more predefinedskill conditions.
 3. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein thegame operation acceptance device is configured to accept the one or moregame operations in case that a more mount of the game value isaccumulated than a predefined amount.
 4. The game machine according toclaim 1, further comprising: a skill evaluation output device configuredto output a result of the determination by the skill evaluating device,wherein the skill evaluation output device is configured to output aresult of the determination by the skill evaluating device even if theskill evaluating device determined that the one or more game operationsthat are accepted by the game operation acceptance device do not satisfyone or more predefined skill conditions.
 5. The game machine accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a game reward determination deviceconfigured to determine a reward to the one or more game operations incase that the skill evaluation device determined that the one or moregame operations that are accepted satisfy the one or more predefinedskill conditions.
 6. The game machine according to claim 5, wherein thegame reward determination device is configured to determine a reward tothe one or more game operations in case that the game value consumingdevice consumed the game value when the skill evaluating devicedetermined that the one or more game operations by the player which areaccepted by the game operation acceptance device satisfy the one or morepredefined skill conditions.
 7. The game machine according to claim 5,wherein the game reward determination device is configured to determinethe reward to the one or more game operations in a process whichcomprises drawing.
 8. The game machine according to claim 5, wherein thegame reward determination device is configured to make, by the processwhich comprises drawing, at least one of a determination of whether topay out the game value as the reward and a determination on an pay-outamount by which the game value is paid out as the reward.
 9. The gamemachine according to claim 5, further comprising: a game valueinformation acquiring device configured to acquire a game valueinformation which represents a consumed amount of the game value whichhas been consumed in a predefined period of time and a paid-out amountof the game value which has been paid-out in the predefined period oftime, and wherein the game reward determination device is configured todetermine the reward based on the consumed amount of the game value andthe paid-out amount of the game value.
 10. The game machine according toclaim 5, further comprising: a display device configured to display aplurality of game objects of different types which are moving over ascreen of the display device, and wherein the game reward determinationdevice is configured to determine a reward based on the type of the gameobject which corresponds to the one or more game operations of theplayer which are accepted by the game operation accepting device in casethat the skill evaluating device determined that the one or more gameoperations satisfy the one or more skill conditions.
 11. The gamemachine according to claim 5, wherein the game operation acceptancedevice is configured to accept one or more game operations by the playerto plural operation acceptance regions, and wherein the game rewarddetermination device is configured to determine a reward determinationmethod for determining a reward based on which operation acceptanceregion of the plural operation acceptance regions accepted the one ormore game operations by the player.
 12. The game machine according toclaim 1, further comprising: a display device configured to display aplurality of game objects of different types which are moving over ascreen of the display device, and wherein the predefined skill conditionis that a difference between a reach timing at which the game objectreached at a predefined position and an operation timing of operation bythe player which is accepted by the game operation accepting device isin a predefined range.
 13. The game machine according to claim 1,further comprising: a display device configured to display a pluralityof game objects of different types which are moving over a screen of thedisplay device, and wherein the predefined skill condition is that adistance between a position of a game object and a position specifiedbased on the game operation by the player which is accepted by the gameoperation accepting device is in a predefined range.
 14. The gamemachine according to claim 1, further comprising: a display deviceconfigured to display a plurality of game objects of different typeswhich are moving over a screen of the display device, and wherein thegame value consuming device is configured to consume an amount of thegame value, where the amount varies depending upon different types ofthe game objects which correspond to the game operations in case thatthe skill evaluating device determined that the game operations by theplayer which are accepted by the game operation acceptance devicesatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.
 15. The gamemachine according to claim 1, wherein the game operation acceptingdevice is configured to accept one or more game operations by the playerto plural operation acceptance regions, and wherein the skilldetermining device is configured to determine the one or more skillconditions based on which operation acceptance region of the pluraloperation acceptance regions accepted the one or more game operations bythe player.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium thatincludes a computer-readable program, when executed by a computer, tocause the computer to at least: accept one or more game operations by aplayer; determine whether or not the one or more game operations thatare accepted satisfy one or more predefined skill conditions; andconsume a game value in case that the skill evaluating device determinedthat the one or more game operations by the player which are acceptedsatisfy the one or more predefined skill conditions.